City Hall, 600 Fourth Avenue, Floor 2, PO Box 34025, Seattle, Washington98124-4025 (206) 684-8803, Fax:(206) 684-8587,TTY:(206) 233-0025 E-mail Address:nick.licata@seattle.gov Web:http://www.seattle.gov/council/licata An EEO employer.Accommodations for people with disabilities provided upon request. Printed on Recycled Paper Nick Licata Seattle City Council AugusL 10, 2013 uear Mayor Murray, l am wrlLlng you abouL enforcemenL acLlons agalnsL hookah lounges. 1he Lraglc slaylng of communlLy acLlvlsL uonnle Chln hlghllghLs Lhe need for securlng publlc safeLy wlLhln our nelghborhood buslness dlsLrlcLs. Powever, l belleve we should conslder Lhe poLenLlal unlnLended consequences of enforcemenL measures almed aL [usL one Lype of buslness, ln Lhls case hookah lounges. l've heard from many consLlLuenLs who see a culLural elemenL Lo Lhese lounges and do noL see anyLhlng LhaL would lnherenLly fosLer vlolence. ClLles such as orLland, San lranclsco and Los Angeles have a number of hookah lounges, desplLe sLaLewlde lndoor workplace smoklng bans. Can we learn anyLhlng from Lhem? l am lnLeresLed ln Lhe daLa collecLed ln supporL of your enforcemenL acLlons. Are Lhe lncldenLs lnslde Lhe esLabllshmenLs, or ouLslde, are Lhe people lnvolved connecLed Lo Lhe esLabllshmenLs? l ask because ln Lhe laLe 1990s, daLa was used ln a slmllar way Loward 8&8 and hlp-hop muslc esLabllshmenLs, wlLh a Lendency Loward collecLlve responslblllLy. Analysls of Lhe daLa ofLen dld noL supporL Lhe clalms. As a resulL we sLopped Lhe pracLlce of focuslng on nlghLllfe esLabllshmenLs as a class and lnsLead focus on lndlvldual esLabllshmenLs, when necessary. ClLy governmenL worked for many years Lo bulld LrusL and undersLandlng wlLh Lhe nlghLllfe communlLy. 1hls approach has allowed Lhe clLy Lo effecLlvely Lake enforcemenL acLlon agalnsL bad acLors, wlLh Lhe supporL of Lhe nlghLllfe lndusLry. As Lhe sponsor of Crdlnance 124808, whlch allows for enforcemenL acLlons agalnsL buslnesses ouL of compllance wlLh buslness llcense regulaLlons, my lnLenL was Lo address Lhe speclflc problem of unregulaLed medlcal marl[uana dlspensarles, and Lo provlde a Lool LhaL allows for necessary enforcemenL. l Lhlnk lL's lmporLanL Lo recognlze Lhe splrlL of Lhe law, and move cauLlously Loward any broader appllcaLlon. lor example, have 8ace and Soclal !usLlce (8S!) ob[ecLlves been formally Laken lnLo accounL? l am requesLlng LhaL you Lake a more measured approach, and ask LhaL you monlLor esLabllshmenLs for Lhe nexL 60 days, Lo allow a reporL Lo your offlce and Lhe Councll LhaL would revlew Lhe currenL crlme daLa and Lhe exLenL Lo whlch lL ls dlrecLly llnked Lo any parLlcular esLabllshmenLs. ln addlLlon lL would revlew besL pracLlces ln Lhe oLher clLles l've menLloned Lo deLermlne lf we can achleve our safeLy concerns wlLhouL compromlslng our 8S! goals. 8y havlng Lhls lnformaLlon a more effecLlve and falrer law enforcemenL approach can be applled Lo hookah lounges. 1hank you for conslderaLlon of Lhls requesL. l belleve we can work LogeLher Lo meeL communlLy concerns. Slncerely, nlck LlcaLa