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Council adds new State-of-Drug-Area zone along Pacific Highway South
Summary
The Council adopted Ordinance No. 4533, adding a new SODA zone (Zone 4) on Pacific Highway South near the future light-rail station after a six-month review that showed judicial orders and mixed incident trends; the ordinance preserves court exemptions for treatment and limited categories of defendants.
Kent — After receiving a six-month update on the State-of-Drug-Area (SODA) program, the Kent City Council voted to add a new SODA zone, adopting Ordinance No. 4533 to expand coverage to a Pacific Highway South corridor near the forthcoming light-rail station.
Commander O’Reilly summarized outcomes for the first six months: judges issued 119 SODA orders from May to October; in 112 of those instances judges selected all three zones, and there were 35 reported order violations during the period (8 in Zone 1, 26 in the downtown Zone 2 and 1 in Zone 3). Officers reported proactive enforcement increased patrol activity and welfare checks in targeted areas; the commander said problem-incident totals trended down approximately 23% in the problem areas and about 20% overall in total incidents since SODA adoption, with sharper declines in Zone 3 (drugs down 92%, overdoses down 75%, problem incidents down 59% in that area).
Council members asked about access to treatment and exceptions for those receiving services. Sarah Watson, chief prosecutor, said the ordinance and court practice allow judges to exempt defendants who need to continue receiving treatment in the zone if they present evidence to the court; Watson noted the court has used such exemptions in approximately 4% of pretrial orders and about 12% of post-conviction orders in the data she reviewed.
Commander O’Reilly described a proposed Zone 4 area — near the new light-rail station and college area — where problem incidents have increased and extra proactive patrols have intensified. Councilmember comments emphasized that SODA is a tool among many and urged continued regional collaboration and annual data review to assess whether zones should be amended or removed. Council moved and adopted Ordinance No. 4533 by voice vote.
Provenance: topicintro SEG 838; topfinish SEG 1306
