The Juneau Assembly voted to kill a proposed ordinance on Monday that would have made it easier for police officers to arrest people who are camping in public spaces.
The Assembly made the decision unanimously. It came at the recommendation of City Manager Katie Koester, who asked members to table the ordinance, which means the proposal is dead and they can’t reconsider it. A similar ordinance could still arise in the future under a new Assembly.
“I think that the ordinance in itself, both from an internal perspective, can really use some improvement,” she said. “From management’s perspective, we really would like to not take this up at this time or in the near future.”
Assembly members originally considered the change earlier this summer after escalating complaints from residents and businesses in town about the problems caused by homeless people who camp in neighborhoods.
Recently Juneau’s homeless shelter announced it would reduce its services later this month due to what staff say is a deteriorating and unsafe environment in the neighborhood.
Right now, city code allows Juneau police officers to arrest people for trespassing if they’re obstructing public spaces by camping — but that requires several steps. The proposed code change would have allowed officers to skip those steps by expanding what could be considered disorderly conduct. Therefore, it would make it easier to arrest people for obstructing public spaces by camping.
The city’s Systemic Racism Review Committee considered the ordinance earlier this month and formally asked the Assembly to reject it. They cited concerns that the change would disproportionately impact marginalized communities — and could be discriminatory.
Ephraim Froehlich chairs the board. He testified at the meeting on his own behalf.
“The fact that it’s even being considered this far and up to this point is extremely concerning to me,” he said. “I think the proposed ordinance and the code changes therein demonstrate a lack of constitutional legal understanding, a lack of interest in real solutions for the issues that it’s attempting to address, and a clear lack of compassion for our neighbors.”
Martin Stepetin, Sr. is a former school board member and the brother of a man who has been missing since late June. At the meeting, Stepetin commended the Assembly for tabling the ordinance and encouraged them to focus on solutions that help people out of homelessness and into stable housing. His brother Benjamin was homeless when he went missing.
“Those are the most vulnerable people in the community, my brother would have been one of them,” he said. “I think that you have heard from a community that in my language it means Wax̂talix. It means we hold something of high value or love. We Wax̂talix our homeless people. We hold them high and Juneau has shown up to defend those people.”
In an interview on Tuesday, Police Chief Derek Bos said he thinks the Assembly made the right call. He said he will continue to work with the city to find other solutions.
“Our goal is not to make it easier to arrest people. Our goal is to make it easier to address specific problems as they relate to homelessness,” he said. “Making an arrest is our last resort solution in these circumstances.”
Last year, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that cities can ban people from sleeping and camping in public places. Juneau city policy allows for dispersed camping but prohibits it on places like sidewalks or roads. In general, the city allows people to camp on unimproved public land as long as they keep their impact low on the surrounding community.
