Renton council asks staff to draft moratorium ordinance on facilities for people detained by ICE; amendment added to skip drafting if code already prohibits it

Renton City Council voted on Feb. 23 to ask city staff to develop an ordinance that would enact a moratorium on the change of use, establishment or development of facilities used for detention, transportation and food services for people detained in relation to immigration and customs enforcement.

Council member Rivera introduced the motion, saying the intent is to prevent local land or facilities from being repurposed to host ICE-related detention operations while the city considers possible code changes. Rivera told colleagues she would work from language used by another jurisdiction (CTAC) and asked that the council set a public hearing and consider declaring an emergency if needed.

The proposal prompted sustained back-and-forth among councilmembers about process and scope. Council member Vann said staff research was prudent and called the idea “very prudent…long overdue,” adding that staff should prepare background before the council advances an ordinance. Other members raised questions about whether existing Renton code already bars the uses Rivera sought to prohibit.

Council member Rivera offered a friendly amendment to the motion stipulating that if an equivalent restriction already exists in city code, staff need not draft a new ordinance. Rivera summarized the amended intent: “If there’s already code in place that prevents this from happening, we don’t need it.” The council approved the amendment and then carried the amended motion by voice vote.

The council did not record a roll-call tally for the motion. The action directs the city administration to prepare proposed ordinance language and supporting analysis for future council consideration, or to report back that existing code already addresses the concern.

What’s next: staff will examine Renton’s municipal code, compare it with model language referenced by Rivera, and return draft ordinance language or a memorandum explaining why new code is unnecessary. The council did not set a deadline in the discussion recorded in the meeting.