Judge denies closure of Denny Blaine Park but orders city to crack down on lewd behavior

A King County judge is ordering Seattle to crack down on lewd behavior at Denny Blaine Park — but said the park can stay open.

Judge Samuel Chung granted a permanent injunction Wednesday, finding public nudity and sex acts at the lakeside park constitute a public nuisance.

The city must now staff the park to watch for illegal behavior and install privacy buffers for neighboring homes.

Years of complaints about lewd acts at Denny Blaine Park led to lawsuit

The group Denny Blaine Park for All took legal action after complaining of lewd sexual acts at the park for years. Denny Blaine Park has been a gathering place for Seattle’s LGBTQ+ community for decades.

“At least since the 1980s, gay and lesbian park goers have come to the park as a place of refuge and providing healing and community solidarity,” court documents obtained by MyNorthwest stated.

However, reports of people masturbating and various reports of sexual behavior started circulating starting around 2018.

“After the start of the COVID pandemic, the number of visitors to the park grew even further and the incidents of lewd acts also greatly increased,” court documents stated.

SPD and parks department failed to act on repeated complaints, court finds

Residents said they made repeated complaints to the Seattle Police Department (SPD) and Seattle Parks and Recreation. One parkgoer told the court she felt threatened by two men masturbating in front of her and called the police. After making the call, she was confronted by other parkgoers for involving law enforcement.

The judge noted the parks department’s code of conduct prohibits sexual misconduct “that unreasonably deprives others of their use or enjoyment.” Despite the prohibition, the parks department said nudity is legal and that due to the historical use by the LGBTQ+ community, it lacked the authority to regulate nudity at the park.

“The parks department also did not want its employees to confront the lewd parkgoers,” court documents stated. “A July 2022 internal email showed that employees had complained about seeing lewd conduct and so much nudity. The department instructed these employees to not intervene, to not take videos or photos evidence, and to stay in their cars.”

It added that the SPD viewed complaints about lewd behavior as low priority, especially amid a staffing shortage. Evidence also showed SPD treated complaints from Denny Blaine Park differently due to concerns about complaints regarding bias and potential lawsuits.

City installed fence and signs, but lewd acts continued

In May 2025, Denny Blaine Park for All filed a lawsuit for an injunction and was granted a preliminary injunction and ordered abatement of nuisance.

The city subsequently installed a fence at the park, designating the lower beach area as clothing-optional, while the rest of the area required clothing, and posted signs notifying park users. The city also increased some services in the area, including having more park ranger visits and more frequent garbage pick-ups.

“Reports of lewd acts were mostly confined to the lower beach area and not in the upper section of the park,” court documents stated.

However, according to court documents, the fence was vandalized with hate messages targeting the residents. While the number of lewd acts slightly decreased, residents were still reporting explicit sex acts. Some parkgoers also ignored the clothing required sign.

Park stays open, but city must step up enforcement

Denny Blaine Park for All argued a complete closure of the park is necessary to “reset” the situation, while the city argued a temporary closure wouldn’t bring long-term change.

In addition to the previous abatement plan, the city must implement a park-specific user plan and code of conduct to address overcrowding, safety, and prohibited and acceptable behaviors. The city must also staff the park and report inappropriate behavior, adequately maintain the park grounds to prevent and discourage lewd behavior, establish buffers between nearby homes, and put up signs and inform park users of proper and improper behavior.

Contributing: Frank Lenzi, KIRO Newsradio

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