The trial to keep Denny Blaine nude begins today, marking the culmination of a Seattle neighborhood’s legal showdown over public space, community use, and personal expression.

In the case of Denny Blaine Park for All v. City of Seattle, a coalition of neighboring lakefront property owners is targeting the long-standing clothing-optional use of the public shoreline at the historically recognized LGBTQ+ nude beach, seeking a permanent court order to completely prohibit nudity or close the park entirely.

“In an attempt to erase that history and fundamentally change the long-standing
character of the Park, Plaintiff Denny Blaine Park for All distorts the public nuisance doctrine
beyond recognition,” the trial brief from the Friends of Denny Blaine community group defending the park begins. “Plaintiff’s claim is, at bottom, that lawful, non-sexual nudity at an
established public nude beach is a nuisance.”

The trial brief filed by the intervenor group represented by Perkins Coie promises an aggressive defense of the beach’s four-decade history as a sanctuary for the LGBTQ+ and naturist communities along with the city’s efforts to defend the public space.

Supporters argue that simple, non-sexual public nudity is entirely lawful. FDB outlines that “RCW 9A.88.010 prohibits only ‘open and obscene’ exposure with a ‘lascivious’ or sexual element,” directly invalidating the public nuisance framework pushed by the plaintiffs’ legal counsel, Foster Pepper.

How we got here
The case comes two and a half years after a ploy to add a children’s play area paid for by an “anonymous donor” to the popular nude beach park was stopped in its tracks by public outcry. Neighbors reported illegal drug use and sexual activity around the park as well as more mundane complaints around issues like parking and public urination. Continue reading →