(The Center Square) – Despite relying on other laws to address illegal camping, the Spokane City Council proposed expanding its “Sit & Lie” policy on Monday to encompass the entire municipality at all times.
The proposal marks the second related to homelessness over the last two weeks, following a series of community roundtables on the policies last year. While unpopular among the progressive majority, around two-thirds of the residents who participated in the discussions favored the changes.
Councilmember Jonathan Bingle proposed the ordinance Monday after his peers floated some of the “low-hanging fruit” last week. If approved, officers could enforce it regardless of shelter availability, time or place, as the current law only applies downtown from 6 a.m. to midnight.
“Pretty straightforward,” Bingle said. “This is bringing forward the ordinance again that I’d submitted over six months ago.”
Once again, Bingle’s idea sparked criticism from the majority, who rejected several similar proposals from the conservative minority last year. His peers cited Police Chief Kevin Hall, who had just told them that officers primarily rely on the city’s pedestrian interference law to address quality-of-life calls.
Hall shared data showing a significant increase in citations for unlawful camping and pedestrian interference since 2023 but not for “Sit & Lie.” However, the pedestrian interference law doesn’t require officers to check for shelter availability like “Sit & Lie,” so it’s easier to cite.
“Make no secret about my opposition to expanding this citywide,” Councilmember Paul Dillon said, “but one item too — just looking at the pedestrian interference law, … obstruct pedestrian traffic means to intentionally walk, stand, sit or lie. So that language, to me, has always felt like it’s in the code and doesn’t have those same restrictions that apply to ‘Sit & Lie.’”
Bingle argued that the laws are separate and necessary on their own, adding that the city’s legal team had already weighed in on the issue. Like pedestrian interference, he said the proposed changes to “Sit & Lie” could serve as another tool for officers to utilize when they see fit.
Homelessness isn’t tied to downtown; while it’s most prevalent there, the crisis also impacts the surrounding neighborhoods. Bingle said expanding the policy citywide would provide other residents the same protection many requested — but acknowledged the majority wasn’t likely to support it.
“We’re bringing forward recommendations that came out of the roundtables,” Bingle said. “This is absolutely one of them that I knew a majority of the council wasn’t going to want to take up.”
The council will likely vote on Bingle’s ordinance during a meeting in the coming weeks.
