Is ‘sit-lie’ zone near Kennewick WinCo working? What the crime numbers show
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- Kennewick shifted its sit-lie zone in 2023 to address heavy 911 call activity.
- Enforcement and outreach in 2024 and 2025 led to declines in serious crimes.
- Theft and drug-related calls fell sharply in early 2025.
A little over a year ago, Kennewick took a new approach to proactively dealing with a 1-mile stretch of Clearwater Avenue that had more 911 calls than any other area of the city.
The city shifted a “no sit, no lie” zone from Canal Drive near the Colonade and Canal Crossing shopping centers to Clearwater Avenue between North Arthur Street near WinCo Foods to North Morain Street near Walker’s Furniture.
It also extends a few blocks to the north and south.
These “Sit-Lie” ordinances are often seen in areas where businesses are struggling with issues related to homelessness, drug use or street crimes.
Reducing crime
The tactic proved successful when implemented the year before in downtown Kennewick after years of complaints from business owners about people loitering and using drugs near their storefronts.
In 2023 that stretch of Clearwater saw more than 280 calls for service ranging from trespassing and theft to drugs, welfare checks and overdoses.
While 2024 saw the same number of calls, Kennewick police were empowered to do more to discourage illegal and disruptive activity in the area.
Where they might have only been able to ask someone to move along before the ordinance went into effect, there were now consequences for refusing to do so.
The sit-lie zones prohibit certain types of activity related to sitting and lying on sidewalks, in the entryways of businesses or blocking bus stops between 6 a.m. and midnight, with exceptions such as medical emergencies, business uses and people waiting to catch a bus. They’re not a camping ban though.
It allows police an enforcement mechanism to encourage people causing problems to leave the area, and is enforceable with a misdemeanor charge if necessary.
While the number of 911 calls stayed the same in 2024, the more serious calls began to drop, while trespass calls went up — an indication that business owners were buying in.
It seems to be working. Calls for that same stretch of Clearwater dropped dramatically in the first half of 2025, Kennewick Police Commander Isaac Merkl told the Tri-City Herald.
“That is likely due to our enforcement and focus on that area, as it takes time to educate and enforce new ordinances,” Merkl said. “You can see after all of the work put in that area in 2024 and this year, we are looking much lower in 2025.”
The area near the Maverik gas station at the intersection of Clearwater and Union Street was cited as one of the areas where public drug use was most visible when the city council passed new public drug use ordinances in 2023.
It was especially concerning for many people in the area with so many kids and teenagers walking to and from school.
While the city has ordinances to help discourage public drug use and disposal of paraphernalia, such as foil used to smoke fentanyl, those tools require a much narrower set of circumstances than the sit-lie zones allow.
Results of the new Sit-Lie zone
Business owners reported 131 thefts in 2023 and 115 in 2024. Only 21 thefts had been called in through July 15 of this year.
The same holds for suspicious circumstances with 20 in 2023 and 18 in 2024. Only three have been called in so far this year.
It also appears to have led to more warrant arrests and substanstially reduced calls for drug related activity in the area.
| Type of call | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 (1/1-7/15) |
| Theft | 131 | 115 | 21 |
| Suspicious circumstances | 20 | 18 | 3 |
| Loitering | 11 | 12 | 6 |
| Trespassing | 47 | 78 | 24 |
| Drug activity | 14 | 4 | 3 |
| Welfare check | 36 | 37 | 18 |
| Warrants | 7 | 10 | 7 |
“We do believe it is effective, just as it has been in other areas,” Merkl said. “But, it is important to note it is just one ordinance that has helped address problem areas and is not the end-all, be-all to address the problems surrounding why it was enacted.”
Merkl said that they have also seen a decrease in crime in nearby neighborhoods, which is part of a larger city-wide trend.
Community buy-in
The key to these crime reductions has been building trust in the impacted communities and working with homeowners and businesses for a more proactive approach.
“Continued cooperation and teamwork amongst all city agencies and partnering with our businesses and community members to identify and address issues quickly are just as important,” he said. “Above that we partner with outreach services weekly to address some of the root causes that would put someone in a situation to violate the sit-lie law.”
The city has a team of volunteers that goes out each week to speak to people living on the streets and try to get them help and needed services.
Concerned residents or business owners can reach out to Kennewick police to discuss issues in their community by calling the department’s non-emergency number at 509-628-0333.
The four areas of Kennewick where the ‘Sit-Lie’ ordinance is in place include:
- Clearwater Avenue to Kennewick Avenue, between Yelm Street and Huntington Street
- 24th Street to 28th Street, between Tweedt Street and Olson Street
- Clearwater Avenue between Arthur Street and Morain Street
- 1st Avenue to Canal Drive between Dayton Street and Washington Street
Pasco also implemented a new sit-lie zone last summer. The two-square-mile zone covers most of the business district in downtown Pasco surrounding Lewis Street, east from Tacoma Street and west to 10th Avenue. It also includes some portions of West Clark Street.
Richland does not have any sit-lie zones, but the city did revive its camping ban last year.
