Politics & Government

Community Pressures Puyallup Council to Extend Ban on Halfway Houses While City Searches for Permanent Solution

The Puyallup City Council extended a temporary ban on halfway houses in the city after neighbors expressed their frustration and shock over a plan to house convicted felons in a home on Shaw Road.

Puyallup residents packed Pioneer Park Pavilion on Tuesday night to make one point clear to their City Council--they do not want a halfway house in their neighborhood.

The City Council voted unanimously to extend a temporary moratorium on halfway houses in Puyallup after listening to an hour of public testimony from the community, gravely concerned with the proposed group home on Shaw Road.

The moratorium gives the city time to develop a permanent policy on halfway homes within city limits. The ban will be in place until February.

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“I’m very concerned about the safety of our kids and I am here representing my children and the other children in the neighborhood,” said resident Tracy Taylor. “This is the worst nightmare I could ever have.”

The proposed plan for a neighborhood halfway house was brought to Puyallup’s attention by Larry Parson, who owns property on Shaw Road, near 23rd Avenue. He wants to use the vacant 4,900-square-foot home for what he describes as a low-cost shared home for military veterans who are also felons or sex offenders.

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Parson has said Level 3 sex offenders would not be allowed to live there, but he wanted to create the home in the spirit of offering a new start for those living on the fringes of society. He has been working with the state Department of Corrections and other groups and agencies to move the plan forward.

Members of the quiet Shaw Road community became alarmed at the possibility of convicted felons and violent offenders living together in their neighborhood, and have organized a Facebook group, circulated a petition and have voiced their opposition at public meetings on the issue all summer.

On Tuesday, Mayor Rick Hansen said he understands their concerns.

“Personally I share your passion and concern,” Hansen said. “As a parent and a person in the community, I want you to know we are hearing what you are saying.”

It isn’t just the idea of housing offenders in Puyallup that is alarming–it’s the location, residents said Tuesday.

The site sits near several local schools, is in a rural area and is far from any public transportation access. With so many children walking down Shaw Road to their school bus stops, the thought of having registered sex offenders in the neighborhood is “frightening,” said one resident.

“We would become prisoners in our own homes,” said resident Jackie Brown. “And a lot can go on in that area, where 20 people with nothing but time on their hands could go explore the woods, unsupervised.”

Marshall Marklin, principal of Northwest Christian School just down the street on Shaw Road, pleaded to the council to think not only of the children in his school, but the threat to the school’s future.

“We have very, very concerned parents saying they are ready to pull their children from our school. As an administrator of a private school, this makes me very nervous, as we live and die by enrollment,” Marklin said. “But, their safety is my No. 1 concern and I have to respect their decision.”

He added that it wasn’t a matter of “if” an incident happened, but when.

That thought was echoed by most members of the community who approached the podium.

In one of the most poignant moments of the night, Taylor’s 9-year-old son approached the microphone to address the council, right after his mother spoke.

“I don’t want this to happen, because I don’t want to be afraid to go outside and play,” he said.

Do you think Puyallup is a suitable city to house offenders transitioning back into society? Tell us in the comments.

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