Issaquah gets victory on sex-offender rules

A court commissioner yesterday refused to temporarily bar Issaquah from enforcing an ordinance prohibiting sex offenders from living in certain areas.

"We think the city actually won today," said City Attorney Wayne Tanaka. "The city is moving forward to enforce the code."

The city will begin issuing citations of $250 a day to Kyle Lewis, a Level 3 sex offender, and his roommate John Weber, a Level 2 offender, who live in the Squak Mountain neighborhood, because that area is now off-limits to them under an ordinance the City Council adopted in August.

The measure restricts sex offenders from living within 1,000 feet of schools and day-care centers, effectively banning them from 85 percent of the city's developable land.

The city can't forcibly remove the sex offenders without a court order, Tanaka said, but it can fine them.

Last week, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Washington filed suit in Superior Court on behalf of Lewis and his mother, Mary Lou Lewis, saying the ordinance is inconsistent with state law because it inflicts further punishment on Kyle Lewis, who has served his time, by making it virtually impossible for him to live anywhere in the city.

The ACLU lawsuit won't be heard until Sept. 23, which prompted the group to seek yesterday's temporary restraining order, which was heard by Commissioner Kimberley Prochnau.