Renton continues to grow and evolve each year. The City of Renton is committed to approaching the unique needs of our community with innovation and accountability, ensuring we build a strong foundation for Renton’s future. Mayor Armondo Pavone aims to enhance residents’ quality of life through these priorities: public safety, development and infrastructure, strengthening social services, city investment and maintenance, economic development.

Public Safety

The city has applied multiple approaches to address public safety concerns. While public safety often focuses on law enforcement, the city has incorporated public safety across multiple departments.

What this looks like:

• Addition of eight police officers over the next two year
• Addition of one evidence technical to the Police Department
• Emphasis on new technology
  • Utilization of drones, GPS, tracking software, FLOCK cameras, and cell phone pings to support investigations.
  • Parks and Recreation and Community and Economic Development Department expansion of the Crime Prevention through Environmental Design (CPTED) process. CPTED is a proactive strategy to use specific design principals to optimize public spaces and stop criminal behavior before it happens. These can include natural access control and opportunities for increased surveillance through the placement of lighting, landscaping, or a design to limit access to crime-prone areas.
• Focusing on traffic safety
  • Focus on securing more Traffic Safety Commission grants to provide more emphasis on Renton's street safety.
  • Continue work on traffic calming measures.
• Focusing on environmental safety
  • Stormwater planning ensures flooding of roads during storms is avoidable by providing infrastructure and planning for the safety of all drivers.

From 2023 to 2024, juvenile suspects in cases have decreased by 25.4%, with the major decrease coming after April 2024. This is a result of good policing, community engagement, and applied effort in key need areas.

Renton's Police Department crime analyst team has built out a Crime Statistics Dashboard; learn more here.

Development and Infrastructure

Renton's population has doubled over the last 20 years, but the city has not increased accordingly. Increasing the city's staff as an investment will allow the city to deliver what the community needs.

The City of Renton has already begun investing in a stronger voice in the legislative process, recently adding an internal Government Affairs Manager.

What this looks like:

• Adding eight police officers
• Adding internal services support
  • HR, IT, Finance Department, and Administrative Assistants

Social Services

What this looks like:

• Embarking on a new partnership with the city's Parks and Recreation Department, Renton School District, and Health Commons, the Renton Student Health Hub provides behavioral health services to students and their families to break the cycle that leads to crisis. The Hub:
  • Identifies opportunities for early intervention.
  • Provides preventative measures to avoid crisis.
  • Utilizes accountability metrics.
• Continuing support of existing services for vulnerable residents and those in need of crisis support including:
  • Food access through senior lunch programs and summer meals.
  • Lower utility billing rates for seniors
  • Housing repair support
  • HB 1590 funds used for behavioral health and housing services.
  • Funding through the Human Services Funding Collaborative to provide social services and assistance to Renton residents.
  • Affordable housing projects
  • FD Cares Programming: City of Renton partnership with the Renton Regional Fire Authority to provide support to those in crisis.

Investment and Maintenance

The city is addressing the toll that deferred maintenance and constrained resources have taken on the city through additional resources that will support the improvement and maintenance of Renton's streets, parks, and other public areas.

What this looks like:

• Revitalizing downtown
  • Upgrades and enhancements to Piazza Park.
  • Upgrades and enhancements to the Renton Market.
  • Legacy Square Project.
  • Attracting businesses to increase pedestrian flow and use of downtown spaces.
• Downtown Clean & Safe Initiative
  • Dedicated cleaning crews 3 to 4 days per week working 4-8 hours per day.
  • Ongoing maintenance including regular litter collection, monthly deep cleanings, graffiti removal, bio-waste cleanup, and six annual pressure washings.

  • Launch of "Paint with Purpose" which will transform graffiti into murals.

• Proactive code enforcement
  • Educating the public on code enforcement
    • Making the code easy to understand.
    • Educating the public on the reason behind directives and what is allowed in yards.
    • Educating the public on the different code enforcement for residential areas vs. business areas.
  • Increasing maintenance
    • Adding frequent cleanings in high-traffic areas and before/after events.
    • Increasing focus on quick response times for immediate cleaning needs or issues.
• Continue to address encampments to keep public spaces safe and clean through dedicated positions with a focus on encampment clean up and offering resources to the unhoused community.
• Updating city facilities and parks
  • Investments include a new 18-acre park in Northeast Renton at May Creek, Springbrook boardwalk, Cleveland-Richardson Park project in Southwest Renton, Earlington Park renovations, Liberty Park improvements, and Edlund-Carr Road park development.
  • Investments in renovations to the Highlands Park and Neighborhood Center Playground, the Maplewood Playground, Gateway Park, Henry Moses Aquatic Center, and Piazza Park
• Investing in transportation
  • Investing approximately $12 million in transportation capital projects for the two-year budget.
  • Projects include bridge repairs, resurfacing streets, and planning in conjunction with agencies for mass transit access.
    

Economic Development

Renton is actively pursuing the addition of new businesses that create well-paying jobs, add positive context to the city, and grow tax revenue, which impacts the services we can provide to our residents.

What this looks like:

• New Seattle Children's Hospital Campus in Renton
• Valley Medical Center's Cancer Treatment Center's growth
• Revitalization of the Longacres campus
• Rainier/Grady Junction TOD Subarea Plan and Renton Transit Center
• Renton New Commercial Development
• New Residential Development:
  • Kennydale Gateway - 385 residential unites near Barbee Mill and VMAC
  • The Towns on 12th Townhomes subdivision will put forward 90 townhomes, with a completion date forecasted in 2026
  • 19 affordable housing units in Sunset with the Willowcrest Phase II development
  • In addition of residential, retail and open space development to the existing Triton Towers space at Talbot and Grady.