Morgantown advances urban camping ban despite opposition
Community members, medical experts, and service providers say a camping ban is punitive, dangerous, cruel, and ineffective. Councilors advanced the ban anyways.
MORGANTOWN – City councilors narrowly advanced a total ban on urban camping by a vote of 4-3 despite overwhelming opposition by community members and experts. The ban will be heard for a second reading for possible adoption on Sept. 3.
Morgantown currently bans urban camping in public parks and along the rail trail. A majority of city councilors want to see a total ban enacted.
Mayor Joe Abu-Ghannam, Councilor Danielle Trumble and Councilor Brian Butcher voted against its advancement, with Councilors Bill Kawecki, Louise “Weez” Michael, Jennifer Selin, and Dave Harshbarger supporting it.
Dozens of community members spoke against the ban. Service providers and medical professionals, speaking before the meeting, also voiced their opposition to the ban. Still, the majority of councilors sat defiant saying they believed they were doing the right thing.
The purpose of the ordinance, as stated, is to “prevent harm to the health and safety of the public” by keeping “streets, sidewalks, parks, and other public property” clear of camps commonly used for shelter by unhoused people. The legislation would bar people from camping on streets, parks and trails and any public property, improved or unimproved. It also bars individuals from storing personal property from those same locations.
A person violating the ban would receive a written warning and information about resources to obtain assistance in seeking alternate shelter on their first offense. A second offense could result in a fine of not more than $200, with a third and consecutive offenses facing a potential fine of not more than $500 and/or a sentence of 30 days incarceration.
The ordinance provides an exception from penalties to individuals who accept alternative shelter or, by Court order, by successfully completing a mental health or substance abuse treatment program.
Michael, speaking to this reporter before Tuesday’s meeting, said she was motivated to propose the ban out of compassion. “We want to ensure we’re doing it right,” Michael said. “Morgantown wants to help people. I don’t want to see anyone die in the woods or in the encampments.”
Cities with urban camping bans in West Virginia and across the nation often use ‘compassion’ as a reason for offering the legislation. Further, city officials say they are combatting public health and safety concerns citing anecdotal evidence of littered needles, defecation, vandalism, burglaries, and assaults.
Julia Deziel, a third year medical student at West Virginia University’s School of Medicine and a member of the Board for the Street Medicine Institute’s Student Coalition, said there’s nothing compassionate about a ban. “Compassion does not look like arresting and fining people and sweeping their homes from under them. It’s so ludicrous,” Deziel said.
“Urban camping bans are inherently medically dangerous,” Deziel said. “If you erase people’s right to exist downtown, you’re restricting them from accessing basic medical care.” She said a ban would push people outside of Morgantown and further from treatment and basic resources, like at the CVS Pharmacy on High Street where many get their prescriptions.
When asked how best to combat homelessness, Deziel unequivocally said a ban wasn’t a solution. “It starts with asking people what they need, providing care right where they need it, and building relationships and trust with people. A camping ban is completely antithetical to compassionate healthcare and to anything a medical provider learns.”
Michael began discussion of the ordinance by saying there are 278 beds in Morgantown; however, this number lumps together emergency shelters, mental health treatment facilities, and substance use disorder treatment facilities. Michael didn’t have an answer when asked how many of the 278 beds were open.
While there may be roughly 300 beds in the city, just under 30 are emergency shelter beds. The rest are reserved for treatment and often come at a cost.
Michael said Catholic Charities of West Virginia would open a triage shelter by Sept. 1, creating a further 30 beds, but Trumble clarified later in the meeting that the Catholic Charities location had not been finalized due to an issue with the lease agreement for the property.
Erin Shelton, Board President of Project Rainbow, an LGBTQ+ housing advocacy group, said The Rainbow House–operated by Project Rainbow and serving as the only active emergency shelter in the city–has just 26 beds with just five of those available. “[The Rainbow House] population has been growing consistently since we opened,” Shelton said.
Shelton says she opposes the ban because of the compounding effect it may have on homelessness. “Criminalization of people experiencing homelessness always has a negative impact on [unhoused people],” Shelton said. “It’s hard to make a housing plan when they are in constant fear of being arrested, fined, or jailed.”
During the meeting, some shared their support for the ban.
Todd Stainbrook decried what he called a “false narrative” on social media about “criminalizing homelessness.” “It seems to help those who need services,” Stainbrook said. “No one should be living the way that a lot of these folks are.” He finished by saying the ordinance gave people “a heck of a chance to do something with their life.”
Dozens more were against the ban, though.
Kelsy Stancliffe, while holding her daughter Cora, said the proposed ban made her feel embarrassed to call Morgantown home. “Every single unhoused person that you see outside–that you say is ruining our town and doesn’t belong here–was once someone’s Cora,” Stancliff said. She went on to say the city was “woefully behind” on its access to services.
Anna said the proposed ban was “cruel and ineffective.” They said rhetoric online and by elected leaders has caused community members to believe homeless people are “nefarious criminals” causing chaos in town, something they say is largely untrue. “Actual danger and perceived danger are very different things.” Anna went on to say Morgantown Police Chief Eric Powell had presented to council crime statistics that largely remained level year-over-year.
Still, the four councilors in support of the ban seemed bent on moving it forward.
Butcher moved to table the proposal, but the motion ultimately failed 3-4. And, for the remainder of the night, every vote concerning the urban camping ban saw a consistent divide between the three younger members and three older members.
Butcher went on to offer several amendments throughout the process.
In one amendment, Butcher argued that the ban on storing personal belongings on public property would negate a provision of the proposal allowing police to store items collected during a sweep. In another, Butcher moved to add “adequate shelter” to the exemptions from penalties section citing a lack of shelter beds. Both were rejected.
Towards the end of debate tensions flared as Michael argued with Butcher over access to beds.
Michael said several beds were available, while Butcher argued most of those cited had a cost associated. Michael, interrupting, said of Butcher, “You’re just stalling, that’s all you’re doing.” Kawecki later alluded to the same, saying Butcher wouldn’t support the ban even if his amendments were adopted.
“[This ban] is short-sighted and morally wrong,” Trumble said, visibly frustrated. “There’s already rules in place for all the activities that are what we’re actually getting complaints about.” Trumble went on to predict things would get worse, potentially spawning legal action against the city.
Nearly four hours after the meeting began, the Morgantown City Council voted 4-3 to advance the proposal to a second reading. If adopted, Morgantown would join Huntington, Parkersburg, Westover and Wheeling with total bans on urban camping. The city would join Huntington and Westover in prescribing incarceration as a potential penalty for violating the ban.
The next city council meeting will take place on Sept. 1, at 7:00 p.m.
Nobody wants to go to a public park and see somebody living in there necessarily, that can be scary for some people and fights could break out or even fires could break out and all kinds of other things. Personally I think homeless people should try to live in and restore abandoned houses, legally of coursel! There are so many of those, and if you really want to go camp out in a forest that's everywhere I mean West Virginia is fully contained within a forest called Appalachia so there's plenty of places to sleep, plenty of trees to sleep under out there, don't choose a public park. Kids and families are going to public parks. Interesting thread here: https://www.reddit.com/r/WestVirginia/s/esPuFkQY3z