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The derelict buildings on Park Avenue put public safety at risk, harm nearby businesses, blight the northern entrance to downtown, and make it harder to lease the new office buildings at nearby Southport.
Renton’s 4-5-060 code is clear. If Renton’s building official determines that a building is an immediate danger to occupants or those nearby, the official should post it with a message that says “This Structure Is Unsafe and Its Occupancy Has Been Prohibited by the Code Official.” It is then unlawful for anyone to enter unless they are officially repairing it. This is commonly known as the city putting a “red tag” on a building. The building official should then order the work to be done to bring the building up to code. If the danger is imminent, the code official is allowed to make emergency repairs to prevent imminent danger. The cost of the emergency repairs will be temporarily covered by the jurisdiction, but billed to the owner of the building.
The buildings on Park Avenue reached an unsafe condition two years ago, with unabated fire damage, disabled fire protection that could cause a seven-story inferno, blocked fire exits, broken windows falling from 7 stories up, open elevator shafts, mold build-up from rain and fire hose water, biohazards from human occupancy without sanitation, and the attractive nuisance of being a dystopian former aerospace office that looks like it belongs in the game “Fallout.”
It took a year and a half, and much cajoling from residents, to finally get the city to follow the code-prescribed procedures to visibly “red-tag” the building. For months the city effectively just kept writing letters to the building owner threatening that an even more firm letter would be coming if they didn’t take action.
This water-damaged “Fourth Notice of Violation” can still be seen posted on the south side of the complex. The building owners were given years to act before the “red-tag” was issued
When the city finally did issue the “red tag”, the fences and signs were ignored almost immediately. The signs look less like “danger” signs, and more like “No Trespassing” signs, and trespassing ordinances are nearly unenforceable in Washington when buildings are abandoned and unsecured. The fence around the property continues to be full of breaches that even a child could easily get through.
The “do not occupy” notice was finally issued this past January. But from the signage, it’s not readily apparent it’s a city safety action. There are no large red warnings like “Danger” or “Unsafe,” which would typically be found when a building gets red-tagged. The large and medium print on the sign reads like a private no trespassing sign, including the clarification “All public access to the premises is prohibited by the owner.” Only the small print identifies the danger, and it is hard to read through the chain link.
This photo taken two days ago shows a typical fence breach
Rather than urgently abate the safety hazard as the Renton Municipal Code specifies, the City has decided to instead give the owners another year or more of allowing its dangerous blighted condition: ten months to accomplish work on the inside, followed by an undefined exterior demolition phase that will (hopefully) start when the inside is done.
Renton recently announced that they are giving the owners another ten months to work on the interior of the building, and not begin the exterior demolition phase until after that.
Note that even if the imminent danger were abated, the owner is still subject to fines until the building meets basic codes for unoccupied buildings. Covering windows with plywood or OSB might make them safe, but it’s not code compliant when left for more than 30 days. Per Renton’s code, broken windows must be replaced with the proper glazing or architectural panels that match the building. There are no laws which say that declaring the building will eventually be torn down excuses the owner from complying with codes in the meantime. If the buildings won’t be demolished for many months, the owners should have their windows attractively covered and graffiti painted over, and landscape attended to TODAY. If the building owners feel it is wasteful to make repairs to a building that they will eventually demolish, perhaps next time they will more proactively maintain their real estate such that it does not become blight in a Renton neighborhood.
Several residents have asked me why they personally have received harsh violation notices in past years with threatened $100-per-day fines for not immediately covering graffiti on their fence, or for not mowing their lawn for a month, or for having a car parked on their grass… but meanwhile the owners of the Park Avenue Buildings (a Southern California real estate firm) are allowed to kick the can down the road on multiple code violations that are an imminent threat to health and safety of our community. The circumstances make a mockery of all our codes.
Renton Council passed an ordinance over ten years ago that allows immediate abatement of dangerous buildings, like the ones on Park Avenue, consistent with state law. Enforcement of the ordinance has been delayed and incomplete, to the detriment of the surrounding neighborhood. businesses, and overall city.
Missing windows like this have allowed precipitation to damage structural trusses and create mold biohazards. Broken windows, along with open elevator shafts, are also a fire risk and falling risk. Both buildings’ fire and lighting systems have been disabled.
Even when the building is eventually demolished, the parking lot on the left will remain. It will not be usable without major work, since the skybridge connections are part of the ADA access design.
I’ve included the full text of Renton’s applicable code below the cut.
4-5-060 CONSTRUCTION ADMINISTRATIVE CODE:
P. SECTION 116 – EMERGENCY MEASURES:
1. 116.1 Imminent danger. When, in the opinion of the code official, there is imminent danger of failure or collapse of a building or structure which endangers life, or when any structure or part of a structure has fallen and life is endangered by the occupation of the structure, or when there is actual or potential danger to the building occupants or those in the proximity of any structure because of explosives, explosive fumes or vapors or the presence of toxic fumes, gases or materials, or operation of defective or dangerous equipment, the code official is hereby authorized and empowered to order and require the occupants to vacate the premises forthwith. The code official shall cause to be posted at each entrance to such structure a notice reading as follows: “This Structure Is Unsafe and Its Occupancy Has Been Prohibited by the Code Official.” It shall be unlawful for any person to enter such structure except for the purpose of securing the structure, making the required repairs, removing the hazardous condition or of demolishing the same.
2. 116.2 Temporary safeguards. Notwithstanding other provisions of this code, whenever, in the opinion of the code official, there is imminent danger due to an unsafe condition, the code official shall order the necessary work to be done, including the boarding up of openings, to render such structure temporarily safe whether or not the legal procedure herein described has been instituted; and shall cause such other action to be taken as the code official deems necessary to meet such emergency.
3. 116.3 Closing streets. When necessary for public safety, the code official shall temporarily close structures and close, or order the authority having jurisdiction to close, sidewalks, streets, public ways and places adjacent to unsafe structures, and prohibit the same from being utilized.
4. 116.4 Emergency repairs. For the purposes of this section, the code official shall employ the necessary labor and materials to perform the required work as expeditiously as possible.
5. 116.5 Costs of emergency repairs. Costs incurred in the performance of emergency work shall be paid by the jurisdiction. The legal counsel of the jurisdiction shall institute appropriate action against the owner of the premises where the unsafe structure is or was located for the recovery of such costs.
6. 116.6 Hearing. Any person ordered to take emergency measures shall comply with such order forthwith. Any affected person shall thereafter, upon petition directed to the Community and Economic Development Administrator or designee, be afforded a hearing as described in RMC 4-5-060.R, Section 118 – Appeals.
Q. SECTION 117 – DEMOLITION:
1. 117.1 General. The code official shall order the owner of any premises upon which is located any structure, which in the code official’s judgment is so old, dilapidated or has become so out of repair as to be dangerous, unsafe, insanitary or otherwise unfit for human habitation or occupancy, and such that it is unreasonable to repair the structure, to demolish and remove such structure; or if such structure is capable of being made safe by repairs, to repair and make safe and sanitary or to demolish and remove at the owner’s option; or where there has been a cessation of normal construction of any structure for a period of more than two (2) years, to demolish and remove such structure.
2. 117.2 Notices and orders. All notices and orders shall comply with RMC 4-5-060.N, Section 114 – Notices and Orders.
3. 117.3 Failure to comply. If the owner of a premises fails to comply with a demolition order within the time prescribed, the code official shall cause the structure to be demolished and removed, either through an available public agency or by contract or arrangement with private persons, and the cost of such demolition and removal shall be charged against the real estate upon which the structure is located and shall be a lien upon such real estate.
This gives the Renton Public Safety committee chair more time to do nothing.
While Carmen is responsible for not addressing the situation with new or modified legislation, the executive portion of the government is responsible for lazily implementation the current legislation.
Yes Anonymous I agree. The Council chair of Public Safety (Carmen Rivera) and Mayor’s office share responsibility for allowing the dangerous dilapidation of these buildings.
In years past we often enjoyed redundant oversight by Renton elected officials, with Council Committee Chairs and the Mayor’s both taking personal active responsibility for solving an issue. This could even lead to minor turf wars, but having too many elected representatives working to solve a problem was far better than too few. Sometimes the Committee Chair would take the co-pilot’s seat, and other times the Mayor’s office would take the co-pilot’s, depending on whether the solution called for a new law, enforcement of an existing law, or some sort of interpretation of Council policy.
But we didn’t see every elected official standing down, the way the community feels has happened with these buildings. We keep seeing memos from staff saying letters have been sent, but the community is seeing no aggressive push from the elected officials to just “GET IT DONE” sooner rather than later.
The Public Safety Chair made it worse for herself by not only refusing any responsibility, but by publishing a tiktok video after a Council Meeting that appeared to be mocking the residents that had asked her to act; she later denied the connection, but it drew attention to her lack of focus on this important (potentially life and death) safety issue in our community.
Leave Carmen Alone!
I’ve tried to be fair to Councilmember Rivera. She IS chair of Renton’s Public Safety Committee. It’s a working position, not a ceremonial one. And she will share responsibility if anyone gets injured or dies from these deathtrap buildings due to lack of code enforcement.
When I think of Public Safety Chairs of the past, and how they would have responded to this ongoing hazzard, there is a stark contrast. For example, one former Public Safety Chair was a former deputy police chief who might have have walked down to Renton’s code enforcers desks when the first windows were broken, and waited in their office until they ran out and red-tagged the building. He would then have asked for status in every council meeting until the problems were fixed. Other former Public Safety Chairs were successful local business owners, who would have been shocked by the impact on other businesses along with the safety risks. They too would have been outspoken at every council meeting until the problem was fixed.
If a fire sweeps through this building and throws embers on the historic neighborhood of North Renton, or someone falls down a dark elevator shaft, or a window breaks lose and slices someone on the ground, the chair of Renton’s Public Safety Committee will partially own it since it is a foreseeable risk that has been allowed to go on too long.
I don’t want to see anyone get hurt, and I wouldn’t want any Council Member to be stuck with this guilt or this legacy.
Thank you for creating this blog for Rentonites to keep up to date with what is happening with these issues in our city. I think it may be time for you to run for Mayor?
You’re a good man Randy.
However, Camren Rivera is old enough to know that domestic violence in the third degree is wrong. Abusing trans people is wrong. Abusing gay people is wrong.
She should resign.
Read the article. Carmen said she doesn’t remember what happened. It’s not her fault things got out of hand.
Carmen Rivera knew what was going on. Her “I don’t remember” excuse is not believable. It’s just a way to avoid taking responsibility.
Most people would be kicked out of government for just one of the things Carmen has been involved in.
She has been involved in serious incidents and moved between important jobs. She acts like none of it matters or like she forgot everything, which makes the whole community look bad.
When someone who has power avoids the truth, it makes people think all LGBTQIA leaders are the same. That is unfair and dangerous. The community deserves better leaders—people who are honest and take responsibility.
Carmen is not helping. She is setting a bad example. It is hurting the very people she claims to stand for.
Renton has good LGBTQUA+ leaders now. It will be fun to watch them rightfully call out Carmen’s horrible behavior from a position of strength.
I like how you completely ignore how she had to resign from Seattle Pride for her “incident”.
Crazy how bad this building has gotten. Any idea how it got in this condition?
1) Out-of-town developer didn’t understand urban decay.
2) City of Renton didn’t have spare police officers to watch the building.
3) The Chair of Public Safety decides to spend all her time making TikToks.
The reason for #2 is interesting: We’ve had two council members who’ve called for (or supported) defunding the police, and our police force hasn’t kept up with Renton’s population growth.
You need to take a step back and ask yourselves why Carmen Rivera is getting dogpiled online.
Let’s be real. It’s not just about the so-called “crimes” or whatever lapses in judgment happened. It’s about the fact that she’s a queer Latinx woman married with a Trans Person of Color. She is unapologetically loud about equity, justice, the Palestinian Genocide, and Black Trans Rights.
The attacks on her are racist and homophobic dog whistles wrapped in bad-faith outrage, and people are lapping it up because it feels easier to cancel someone than to reckon with systemic issues that actually require drastic measures like defunding the police, land distribution from slumlords to tennents, and decolonising Renton.
Carmen is a human being who showed up for communities that most of you never even think about, except to hate.
She’s not just a few messy moments. You’re being unfair and letting identity-based hate win.
So maybe log off for a sec, touch some grass, and reflect on why Carmen became your scapegoat.
tldr: “You’re RaCIsT if you notice Carmen is a POS”
Go back to your polycule baizuo
When will Southport get filled? What is the update? When are we getting light rail?
Renton seems doomed. The streets and bus stops are filthy, city feels like a depressing concrete jungle with limited walkability, economic growth is limited, but housing costs are soaring.
Hey! The city got a new website design!