Everett Police recommend modest SODA zone changes; council to act June 25

City Attorney staff and Everett Police briefed the council on the biennial review of so‑called SODA areas (locations where certain drug‑trafficking prohibitions are adopted by resolution). The briefing summarized overdose and narcotics data, park calls for service and on‑the‑ground observations and recommended keeping most existing prohibited areas, adding one zone on North Broadway and removing Wiggum's Hollow Park.

Why it matters: SODA zones are local resolutions that set prohibited areas intended to reduce open‑air drug dealing and trafficking in locations with documented activity. Police said the zones are one tool among outreach, enforcement and social services used to address public‑safety concerns around substance use.

Summary of police presentation and recommendation Sergeant Bennett summarized the evidence used to form the police recommendation: fatal and nonfatal overdose incident mapping, narcotics‑related arrests and substance‑related 911 or officer‑initiated contacts for 2021–2024. The packet cited 1,784 narcotics violation arrests for 2023–24 combined. The department said most overdoses and narcotics contacts still occur in or near the currently defined SODA areas.

Sergeant Wallace told councilors the department recommends adding the 1000 block of North Broadway to the SODA map, citing increasing business and resident complaints and a recent investigation that identified dealer activity proximate to Everett Community College. "The zone that we would like to recommend to include would be the 1,000 block of North Broadway to East Marine," Wallace said. The department also recommended removing Wiggum's Hollow Park because patrol observations no longer show significant narcotics‑trafficking activity there, though nearby Jackson Park continues to report activity.

Council response and next steps Council members asked detailed questions about park data and particular hot spots (for example, south of downtown and near service providers). One councilor urged staff to consider expanding zones in some corridors south of downtown; the police said they would review that suggestion in advance of the June 25 action. City staff said a formal resolution reestablishing the SODA areas is scheduled for council action on June 25.

Ending: the police briefing provided the evidence base the council asked for; the final boundaries and the council's formal resolution vote were scheduled for the June 25 council meeting.