Seattle is considering building a municipal jail because it will lose all of its misdemeanor jail beds when its nonrenewable contract with King County ends in four-and-a-half years. Because of space constraints in existing County facilities in downtown Seattle and Kent, King County is requiring that Seattle and the other cities end their use of the County jail for city misdemeanants by Dec. 31, 2012.
The city has identified four sites that might house a low-rise jail:
- 11762 Aurora Avenue. N. – Puetz Golf in Haller Lake
- 1600 W. Armory Way – Interbay
- Highland Park Way Southwest and West Marginal Way – South Seattle
- 9501 Myers Way S. – Souith Seattle
The City has planned public forums to provide information and hear feedback about possible sites for a new Seattle Municipal Jail. The forum regarding the possible Haller Lake site will be held:
Saturday, July 12th
9 a.m. to noon
Wellness Center at North Seattle Community College
9600 College Way North
In addition to the public forums, the city will conduct two meetings in August focused specifically on potential environmental impacts. Those meetings will be part of the State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) Environmental Impact Statement process. The city will announce the dates and locations for the SEPA forums once they have been scheduled.
For more information, visit the city’s municipal jail Web site.
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