(The Center Square) – Spokane Valley is taking another step toward mitigating the impacts of homelessness on its residents with an ordinance that would make it illegal to be in a park or on city property at night.
The city of Spokane, Spokane County and Spokane Valley have all been reviewing portions of their local laws following a June U.S. Supreme Court decision. The high court ruling overturned a lower court decision that limited law enforcement’s ability to enforce anti-camping ordinances.
The Valley already has laws that allow officers to issue an infraction for being in a park after hours, but this ordinance would elevate it to a misdemeanor. While it’s primarily aimed at mitigating the impacts of homelessness, it would apply to anyone, homeless or not.
“For that to be a misdemeanor, you don’t have to be camping, you don’t have to be homeless; I mean, if I was in a city park after hours without having authority, I would be guilty,” City Attorney Kelly Konkright told the city council during Tuesday’s meeting.
The ordinance would also change the definition of “camp,” doing away with language that limits the verbiage “camp facilities” and “camp paraphernalia.” If approved, “camp” would mean sleeping in or on any city park or public property after hours.
According to the proposed ordinance, park hours would be from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. from Apr. 15 to Oct. 15, reduced to 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. from Oct. 16 to Apr. 14. The timeframe for when camping on other public property would be illegal is only limited to “any period of time after sunset.”
Anyone guilty of violating the amended law could face up to 90 days in jail, a $1,000 fine, or both.
While the entire council supported local code amendments, Councilmember Al Merkel expressed feelings that the Valley isn’t going far enough regarding enforcement. City Manager John Hohman and others took time to disagree, noting that no one has an answer yet.
“This is a problem that one has been able to solve yet, and as the city manager, I can’t sit here and listen to this type of rhetoric,” Hohman said, “where we would be … spending an unlimited amount of resources as other cities, states and the federal government has.”
Hohman doesn’t want people to look at the Valley as outlawing homelessness; he wants people to see it as a place that enforces the law while also moving people into treatment and housing.
Spokane County is considering an amendment to its code to allow sheriff deputies to break up encampments before checking for availability at local shelters. Communication Director Pat Bell said it’s still pending a legal review, but it would align the county with the Supreme Court ruling.
The city of Spokane has gone back and forth on multiple ordinances aimed at mitigating homelessness, with much of them temporarily delayed by the city council’s majority. For every municipality, the level of impact is largely limited by the amount of law enforcement available.
“There’s a lot of activities moving forward in addition to the continued coordination with Spokane and Spokane County on these items,” Hohman said. “To say that there is no effort or no plan is disingenuous at best.”
The Spokane Valley City Council unanimously approved the ordinance for a second reading in the coming weeks. It’ll adopt the current code and become local law if approved at that time.
