Tacoma postpones decision to ban camping on public property
Tacoma City Council has postponed consideration of a law to ban camping on public property.
At Tuesday’s City Council meeting, Council member Robert Thoms made a motion to table the ordinance and bring it back within the next 30 days with updates.
Thoms said at the meeting he wants to “continue to work with our Tacoma Pierce County Coalition to End Homelessness folks to ensure we provide the best possible tool to support ensuring those experiencing homelessness have accesses to services.”
City Council passed a no-camping law in 2017, but it sun-setted at the end of 2019.
Thoms, Deputy Mayor Keith Blocker and Mayor Victoria Woodards proposed an ordinance to bring the law back. The ordinance also would make it unlawful to store personal property on public property. Camping on private property is already against the law in Tacoma.
Violation of the law would result in a misdemeanor, with convictions resulting in a fine of no more than $1,000 or by imprisonment not to exceed 90 days, or both.
“It was my intent when I sponsored our original camping ban several years ago to create accountability to all sides of this issue and that has not changed,” Thoms said. “However, we now have County Partners and the Coalition to End Homelessness who are working alongside us to bend the curve, and while I don’t want to wait another day to help those living on our streets or to provide a voice for those neighbors, businesses and citizens seeking a solution, I think we can enhance what we have now and provide an even greater impact to all involved.”
The Tacoma-Pierce County Coalition to End Homelessness spoke out against the camping ban last week.
“While the city of Tacoma has increased shelter beds and options, the number of people experiencing homelessness dramatically exceeds current shelter capacity,” according to a letter by the coalition. “A recent County estimate identified 1,350 unsheltered individuals in Pierce County, with Coalition counts showing only 40 shelter beds available county-wide.”
Coalition members asked the City Council to first establish safe and accessible camping sites for all, work with the city to determine an accurate unsheltered count in Tacoma, lead a city-wide public process to determine how to best use public property to help individuals living unsheltered, partake in completion of a Pierce County Comprehensive Plan to End Homelessness, and adopt a five-year homeless strategy.
Thoms said he intends to pass a camping ban but wants to ensure it’s effective.
“I appreciate the Mayor, Deputy Mayor and all who signed on to restore this much needed tool and I ask for patience to tweak just a bit more to ensure we have an ordinance that can get us closer to our shared goals to ending homelessness in our community,” Thoms said. “We will bring this back to ensure those who have asked for tools to address this issue on all side are heard.”
