Police say this problem house is ‘solved,’ but neighbors aren’t sure ordinance worked
A year ago, Olympia cited the first home under an enhanced ordinance designed to address nuisance properties.
Did the ordinance work?
“In this particular situation, I’d say no,” said Marybeth Berney, who lives next door to the Ken Lake home and made frequent calls to police.
The ordinance says property owners can get a civil citation for recurring crimes on their properties — three or more crimes within 90 days or five or more within two years — and must then work with police to address issues or faces fines.
The previous ordinance targeted problems such as trash and noise.
Police got involved with the home at 2080 Lakemoor Lane SW in the fall of 2017 after another neighbor reported behavior “associated with drug dealing,” according to a police report. The home was cited in January 2018 after police recorded five instances of drug violations, theft and mail theft in three months.
Berney kept track of people and vehicles going to the home. She had people trespass on her property; after the power was shut off next door, someone plugged an extension cord into her house.
“It was very stressful. It was like having a second full-time job, trying to feed information to the police,” she said. “It didn’t seem like it was getting me anywhere.”
Olympia Police Officer George Clark, who had been working on the case since 2017, acknowledged the citation didn’t solve the problem.
“The behavior didn’t change. There was a constant string of tenants and residents and squatters that were coming out of there,” he said. “We can’t just detain somebody just because they’re at a drug house.”
But police continued to patrol the area and respond to 911 calls, making dozens of visits to the home in the past year. There were also reports of burglaries, trespassing and domestic disturbances; records show police made half a dozen arrests of people associated with the property in that time.
One of those arrested was the homeowner, Kathryn Cook, who is now serving a 120-day sentence in Thurston County jail after pleading guilty in December to unlawful use of a building for drug purposes and violating a no-contact order, according to court documents.
Her boyfriend, Christopher Bush, who also lived at house, is now in state prison for possession of a stolen motor vehicle and unlawful possession of a controlled substance-methamphetamine.
Meanwhile, the home went into foreclosure. Fannie Mae took control of it in November, according to county records. The water was shut off for non-payment in December, and the city condemned the home Jan. 25.
It was still an eyesore, with broken windows boarded over or covered with blankets and trash piled up at the front of the home and back deck, according to Clark.
But in recent days that has all been cleaned up. Now if you drive by, the only sign of trouble is the bright orange placards on the front door and garage announcing the home is “unsafe for human occupation.”
So far, the city has not cited any other properties under the nuisance ordinance. Clark said that is a last resort and that police would rather work with property owners before problems escalate.
Last month, he was assigned to the city’s new neighborhood police unit designed to work proactively on cases like this.
As for the Lakemoor Lane property, now that everyone has moved out and it has been condemned, Clark said he is confident it won’t return to a drug house: “In my book it is effectively solved.”
