Lacey City Council adds enforcement hours to camping ban
Lacey City Council unanimously approved two changes to the city’s camping ban ordinance Thursday night.
The changes add enforcement hours to the ban, and make clear that camping in residential areas, such as on a neighborhood sidewalk, is prohibited.
Over the summer, the council approved the camping ban, which prevents camping on city-owned property. If police determine that a camper is homeless, they can direct them to shelter space. But if shelter space is unavailable, police are not allowed to enforce the ban with a misdemeanor citation because of a federal ruling called Martin v. Boise.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said if a city doesn’t have a place to send homeless people, enforcing a camping ban violates the constitutional ban on cruel and unusual punishment. Lacey does not have its own shelter, but it does provide funding to shelters elsewhere.
But as Lacey City Attorney Dave Schneider said at Thursday night’s council meeting, the federal court ruling does not prohibit the city from regulating its own camping ban ordinance.
The result is that between 10 a.m. and 7 p.m., police can enforce the ban to get campers to move off public property. However, if that person is homeless and no shelter space is available, they would be allowed to return to that public spot overnight between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m., Lacey police Chief Ken Semko said.
“This amendment will allow individuals who are homeless an adequate opportunity to camp overnight while ensuring that public property and public safety are preserved and protected,” a city staff recommendation reads.
Before the council voted on the amendment to the camping ban ordinance, Councilman Lenny Greenstein suggested a second amendment that would prevent camping on public sidewalks in residential areas.
Both were approved.
Chief Semko said the city already has an ordinance on the books that protects equal access to public space. “You can’t be in a place that prohibits the movement of other people,” he said. “A sidewalk would fall into that category.”
He said the Greenstein amendment adds clarity to the overall camping ban ordinance.
The ordinance was approved in June, but Lacey police have yet to issue any citations, Semko said. Instead, it has allowed police to engage with the homeless community and direct them to social services. Some, he said, have taken advantage of the services offered by the Community Action Council and Lacey Veterans Services Hub.
This story was originally published November 15, 2019 at 7:00 AM.
