Morgantown proposes camping ban on public property

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (WBOY) — The City of Morgantown is scheduled to hold the first reading of a new ordinance on Tuesday that would prohibit camping on public property.

The proposed Article 1157 of the City Code , or the “Camping on Public Property” Ordinance, aims to “prevent use of public property for camping or storage of personal property” to “prevent harm to the health and safety of the public.”

The proposed ordinance would prohibit anyone from using or storing tents or temporary shelters or “camping paraphernalia,” which includes sleeping bags, tarps, cots, beds, hammocks, blankets or portable cooking faculties, on any land owned by the city, including streets, parks and trails.

The ordinance would only be applied to people using those items “for the purpose of habitation,” and not to people hammocking or cooking out in a public park. It would also not apply to campgrounds, people who have a camping permit or people staying overnight in a vehicle “located in a place where it may lawfully be.”

According to section 1 of the proposed ordinance, it is meant to address:

• Concerns of public safety caused by people camping in places with “park recreational activities, pedestrian, bicycle and vehicular traffic.”
• Health concerns from people camping without adequate sanitation leading to “increased risk of spread of disease and potential for citizens contracting illnesses.”
• Interferences of the “use of public places by members of the public intending to use the public place for activities other than camping.”

If passed, anyone who violates the ordinance can be deemed a “public nuisance” and on their first violation, receive a written warning and information about resources for alternate shelter. A second violation would result in a fine of up to $200, and a third violation within 12 months would result in a fine of up to $500 and imprisonment for up to 30 days.

However, to be issued a fine or any criminal penalty, the ordinance says the person must have “been offered alternate shelter and refused the offer.” Anyone who is fined or imprisoned under the ordinance and needs treatment for substance abuse or mental health can tell the court and receive an alternate sentence, such as a treatment plan.

The ordinance needs to go through two readings and be passed and filed by the Morgantown City Council to become law. It would then become effective 30 days later, but only if the city has an open emergency shelter—the application of the ordinance would be pushed back if it doesn’t.

Article 1157 would be enforced by “any duly authorized official of the City,” as long as they comply with the Morgantown Police Department’s “Transient/Outdoor Encampment” General Order No. 339.

The first hearing will be during the Morgantown City Council’s regular meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 20.

The American Civil Liberties Union of West Virginia (ACLU) has already called for the council to not pass the ban, saying that it’s a way to “criminalize homelessness.”

This comes less than a year after the Monongalia County Commission passed the controversial “Ordinance Regulating Pedestrian and Vehicle Safety,” which prohibits people, including panhandlers, from standing in highway medians and keeps drivers from interacting with pedestrians in roadways.

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