SEATTLE, WA – Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell’s new proposal would amend the city’s chronic nuisance properties ordinance as part of a continued effort to curb gun violence around nightclubs.
Currently Seattle’s chronic nuisance properties ordinance includes activities such as gun violence, assault, drug trafficking and prostitution. A property is declared a chronic nuisance if three or more nuisance activities are documented in a 60-day period or seven or more occur in any 12-month period.
Since 2009, when the ordinance was enacted, the chronic nuisance properties law has been used 17 times, with flagged properties including seven motels, five nightclubs, three private residences, one apartment building and one commercial event space, Harrell’s office stated in a press release.
The mayor’s proposed amendments would add liquor violations to the list of offenses considered when determining whether a property is a chronic nuisance. According to Harrell, this would address nightclubs and other after-hours venues that continually violate liquor laws and operate without valid licenses.
An additional amendment adds off-property nuisance activities occurring adjacent to the property to the list. This has also been considered by other Washington cities such as Tacoma and Spokane.
“This legislation will allow the city to act decisively and effectively if a property becomes a continued source of crime and disorder for the surrounding community, improving the safety and wellbeing of everyone in our city,” Harrell said in a statement Monday.
There have been over 20 nightlife-linked shootings in the city so far in 2025. That is on pace to surpass the 47 nightlife-linked shootings in 2024. Last April, the Seattle City Council passed an ordinance requiring after-hours bars and clubs to obtain city permits, employ two security personnel and use video surveillance, as part of the city’s efforts to curb nightlife associated violence.
Just days before this bill was set to take effect, two people were killed outside a nightclub in South Seattle. Seattle Police Chief Shon Barnes issued a chronic nuisance declaration for the associated venue after the incident.
Under the ordinance, property owners are expected to respond to the declaration within seven days and work with the police department to abate or mitigate the nuisance. If the property owner fails to take steps to mitigate the nuisance activity, they face a $500-per-day fine from the date of the declaration letter.
If the property owner ignores the city’s directives, a one-time penalty of $25,000 may be enforced.
The legislation will be considered during the Seattle Public Safety Committee meeting on June 24.