(The Center Square) – The Pasco City Council is considering new restrictions on where housing for sexually violent predators could be located, including a proposed 1,000-foot separation from schools, parks, daycares and other locations where children and families gather.
The discussion Monday night comes as Washington lawmakers prepare to revisit the state’s rules governing Less Restrictive Alternatives, or LRAs.
Councilmember Leo Perales, who has been involved in Pasco’s work on the issue, said he expects LRAs to remain a major topic in Olympia.
“I know during this next legislative session this is going to be a big topic,” Perales said. “We need to make sure that we’re looking at this with common sense.”
Perales also criticized what he described as efforts by Democrats in the state Legislature to impose policies on local governments, saying he believes cities need greater control over where LRA facilities are located.
The Pasco council is not voting Monday on a final ordinance. Instead, council members are expected to give city staff direction on the framework they want included in regulations that will come back for consideration later.
What is an LRA?
An LRA is a court-approved residential placement for a person who has been civilly committed as a sexually violent predator and is being transitioned from secure confinement into the community under strict conditions.
Washington’s sexually violent predator law allows an individual to seek conditional release to an LRA when a court determines the placement is appropriate and conditions can adequately protect the community.
The state operates the Special Commitment Center on McNeil Island, where people civilly committed as sexually violent predators receive treatment and remain in secure confinement. An LRA provides a less restrictive setting while maintaining treatment and supervision.
Secure Community Transition Facilities, or SCTFs, are a type of more structured LRA placement.
Washington law classifies SCTFs as essential public facilities, meaning local governments cannot simply prohibit them from locating within their jurisdictions. Cities can, however, establish land-use and siting regulations within the limits of state law.
That distinction is at the center of Pasco’s debate.
Pasco currently has a moratorium on certain LRA and SCTF development that remains in place through February 2027 while the city works on permanent regulations.
Pasco proposal
The framework being discussed by the council would limit LRA facilities to industrial areas, with the proposed focus on areas north of I-182/US-12.
The proposed regulations would also establish a 1,000-foot separation from locations identified as having risk potential, such as schools, school bus stops, daycares, parks, playgrounds, trails, libraries, churches, youth camps, and other sensitive locations.
The proposal would also prohibit a line of sight between an LRA and those locations.
Applicants would have to demonstrate that their proposed site is the farthest available location from those sensitive uses within Pasco.
Every proposed LRA would require a Conditional Use Permit and review by a Hearing Examiner, who could impose additional safety and operational conditions.
If an existing facility wanted to increase the number of approved beds, it would have to go through a new Conditional Use Permit process rather than expanding administratively.
Perales said one of his priorities is strengthening the proposed Community Safety Plan.
He wants the ordinance to establish a minimum list of requirements for every safety plan rather than leaving the contents entirely to case-by-case decisions.
Those requirements could address security and staffing, emergency protocols, incident reporting, transportation and escort procedures, and coordination with Pasco police and Fire/EMS.
“There are so many layers to this that I honestly think other cities across the state will take our ideas and plan,” Perales said. “Our council is ensuring we have the most teeth that we can with these regulations.”
Perales said Pasco officials are looking at how other communities have handled LRA placements while developing their own regulations.
“I’ll be honest, I don’t want them anywhere in Pasco, but you cannot prohibit them entirely,” Perales said. “But I hope no one tries to open one here in Pasco.”
He said the prospect of housing several sexually violent predators at one location remains concerning to him.
“To have four or five of these individuals housed, that raises the hair on my skin,” Perales said.
Kennewick LRA battle
The Pasco debate follows a highly contentious effort earlier this year to establish an LRA home in a Kennewick neighborhood.
A home near Edison Street was proposed as a residence for sexually violent predators transitioning from the Special Commitment Center on McNeil Island.
The proposal sparked significant neighborhood opposition and led to the formation of Save Our Children Tri-Cities, or SOCT, a grassroots online group started by neighbors.
RMembers of the group organized protests, public outreach and other efforts opposing the proposed facility. The grassroots campaign drew attention to concerns about the proposed location and became a major part of the community response.
The proposed LRA ultimately did not open at the Kennewick property following the community opposition.
The Kennewick experience also prompted broader discussion about how local governments can respond to proposed LRA placements and what additional safeguards cities can establish.
Tenino deals with LRAs
Kennewick isn’t the only Washington community to face opposition to an LRA.
In Tenino, a planned LRA home closed before a resident moved in after significant community and law-enforcement opposition.
The Washington Office of Public Defense has cited the Tenino experience as an example of the challenges surrounding LRA placements and community acceptance.
The experiences in those communities have become part of the larger conversation over how Washington should balance treatment and community reintegration with public safety and local concerns.
State considers changes
The debate is also playing out in Olympia.
During the 2025-26 legislative session, lawmakers introduced several bills addressing the placement and oversight of sexually violent predators in LRAs.
SB 6337, sponsored by Sen. Nikki Torres and other lawmakers, would have prohibited an SVP from being placed in an LRA within 500 feet of certain facilities or schools, or in a location with a sight line to those facilities.
Another proposal, SB 6336, sought to prohibit LRA placements in areas with a high concentration of children.
Other legislation would have addressed who could own and operate LRA housing, the role of prosecutors in release decisions and other aspects of the placement process.
Those proposals did not become law during the 2026 regular session.
Perales said he expects the issue to return to the Legislature and believes Pasco should have its own regulations ready.
The city’s proposed 1,000-foot buffer would also go further than the 500-foot restriction proposed in one of the 2026 state bills.
For now, Pasco’s moratorium remains in place through February 2027 as the city works on its local regulations.