Richland blocks sex offender housing, hoping to avoid ‘full-tilt freak out’
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- Richland council enacts six-month moratorium on siting sexual offender facilities.
- Moratorium pauses siting of Less Restrictive Alternative facilities for review.
- Tri-City leaders seek legal and policy options after Kennewick placement sparked outcry.
No facilities serving sexually violent offenders will be allowed in Richland for six months.
The city council voted 6-0 on Tuesday night to approve a moratorium on siting Less Restrictive Alternative facilities.
The moratorium will give the city time to decide if its current process for reviewing essential public facilities, including community transition facilities, is sufficient to cover residential facilities for sexually violent offenders released from the McNeil Island special commitment center.
Richland acted after news broke that a Kennewick home at West Eighth and Edison was purchased with the intent of licensing it to serve as a transition facility for violent offenders, triggering public outcry and vandalism.
While there are no plans to site a home in Richland, council members said they welcome breathing room to review its process and to convey to the state that it expects more cooperation if or when such facility is planned.
“This whole full-tilt freak out in Kennewick was utterly mishandled in my opinion by the state. The first time anybody heard about it was a massive immediate outcry, and they held a town hall where they answered as few questions as possible,” said Councilman Kurt Maier.
Pasco also adopted a temporary moratorium, and Benton County is considering one. The city of West Richland is considering a zoning change to address similar issues.
Cities and counties can’t outright ban the facilities under current state laws. But Tri-City leaders are scrambling to figure out what can be done to prevent or restrict the homes after several bills failed to get anywhere in the Legislature this session.
A Tri-Cities nonprofit already has raised more than $10,000 to hire lawyers to help stop the placement of the home in Kennewick.
Richland plans a public hearing on Less Restrictive Alternative Facilities at 7 p.m., April 7, at city hall, 625 Swift Blvd.
This story was originally published March 4, 2026 at 10:52 AM.