Seattle's Denny Blaine Park will stay open, but add 'visual barrier'

A King County judge has given the city of Seattle orders to install a visual barrier at a popular nude beach in Seattle's Denny Blaine neighborhood, in an effort to curb alleged illicit behavior like public masturbation and drug use.

Denny Blaine Park For All, an association made up of neighborhood residents, is suing the city, alleging that Seattle failed to address a decade's worth of lewd acts at the park.

The association has repeatedly asked King County Superior Court Judge Samuel Chung to close the park until the city produces a safety strategy.

At Wednesday's court hearing in downtown Seattle, Judge Chung refused to close the park for a second time.

But Judge Chung told attorneys representing Seattle the city was not understanding "the situation or experiences" of neighbors in Denny Blaine. He gave the city 60 days to install a 4-foot tall visual barrier at the park to block views of nude parkgoers.

The decision follows Judge Chung's preliminary injunction in July, when he ordered the city to submit an abatement plan to crack down on public nudity within two weeks.

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Under the proposed abatement plan, Denny Blaine Park would be split into a "clothing required" section, and a "clothing optional" section. The plan also proposes adding park rangers to curb illegal behavior, in addition to the visual barrier.

After the city released its proposed abatement plan, Denny Blaine Park For All issued a statement saying the plan "ignores the violence, threats and escalating illegal behavior at the park."

Following Judge Chung's decision on Wednesday, Lee Keller, a spokesperson for Denny Blaine for All, criticized the city's plan.

"The city has come up with a plan to create what's sort of a masturbation wall," Keller said. "What that does is encourage the illegal activities to continue to happen. That's a problem."

The illicit behavior neighbors have been dealing with, will just move to the clothing-optional section, Keller argued.

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Tim Robinson, a spokesperson for the Seattle City Attorney's Office, declined to comment on the hearing.

Colleen Kimsyelove, a co-lead of Friends of Denny Blaine, a community group, believes that Judge Chung's order could entice people who are solidly against public nudity at Denny Blaine to increase reports of alleged indecent behavior.

Kimsyelove also worries that as a result, park visitors from historically marginalized backgrounds, like queer and transgender park-goers, will receive civil charges and criminal charges from the city.

"Denny Blaine Park For All, in 60 days, will be able to come back and say, 'Didn't work, shut it down," Kimsyelove said. "At the cost of a lot of peoples' freedom."

A review hearing will be scheduled after the 60-day period.

If the barrier doesn't curb the illicit behavior, Chung said, the association may have a stronger argument to close the park in the future.

Ultimately, the judge said, a lot will depend on the behavior of park users themselves.