Kirkland Stands By La Quinta Inn Deal Amid New Lawsuit

KIRKLAND, WA — Kirkland's city manager responded Friday to a lawsuit filed in Snohomish County this week, claiming the city and King County violated public meeting laws in moving forward with the purchase of a La Quinta Inn for use in the county's Health Through Housing initiative, an effort designed to provide stable shelter and services to people experiencing long-term homelessness.

King County finalized the purchase in March, adding a tenth hotel to the program and the second designed to serve the Eastside. The group "Keep Kids Safe" announced its lawsuit filing Thursday, alleging public officials pushed through the deal in secrecy.

In a statement shared Friday, Kirkland City Manager Kurt Triplett said his office first learned of the lawsuit from news outlets and had yet to be formally served with the suit. While the city is reviewing the complaint, Triplett said council members and other officials could not comment specifically on active litigation.

On Kirkland's end, the city manager said he was confident that all state and local laws were followed and noted that the terms and timetable of the deal were negotiated by the county and the property owners. Triplett also reiterated that the council approved requirements for a safety review by the Kirkland Police Department and scheduled a public outreach period to field community concerns.

The statement continues:

"Chronic homelessness is a societal problem that includes Kirkland. We are confident our community can help respond to this urgent problem while also protecting the public health, safety, and welfare, particularly with respect to our children attending nearby schools. The City has always made it clear that any City approval of this permanent supportive housing project will depend on binding agreements approved by the City Council which address these important health, safety, and welfare needs in binding and enforceable ways. For this reason, the Council adopted Resolution R-5522 on March 1, 2022, which sets terms and conditions necessary to maintain City support of La Quinta Inn as a King County Health Through Housing site, including review of a safety plan by the Kirkland Police Department. Resolution R-5522 and the terms and conditions were created in direct response to the numerous public comments the city has received through virtual stakeholder meetings, emails, phone calls and testimony at City Council meetings. Additional robust public outreach will be undertaken by the City starting in May that will help ensure that community concerns are addressed in these future agreements."

Once they are in operation, King County estimates the Kirkland and Redmond hotels will provide stable housing and on-site services for 265 people in need on the Eastside. The county aims to have 1,600 units available across the region by the end of the year, with the Kirkland hotel unlikely to see its first residents before 2023. Other Health Through Housing hotels were previously purchased in Seattle, Renton, Auburn and Federal Way.

More details about the La Quinta Inn purchase and the county's Health Through Housing initiative are available online.