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Bizjournais/ - News, Ter, 03 de Abril de 2012
CLIPPING INTERNACIONAL (Supreme Court)
Denver camping ban introduced, debated
Denver City Councilman Albus Brooks introduced a
controversial city measure Tuesday that would prohibit
unauthorized camping in public and private places,
drawing an overflow crowd of homeless advocates,
media and downtown business representatives.
Brooks, District 8, urged everyone in the room for a
council committee meeting “to take a deep breath”
before stating his case for the proposed law, saying
the number of homeless people sleeping on Denver’s
streets – especially the 16th Street Mall – has
increased to an “alarming” level.
“This is needed from a public safety standpoint and
from the standpoint of protecting the public right of
way,” Brooks said to the council’s Land Use,
Transportation & Infrastructure Committee (LUTI).
In response to the many people who were wearing
orange “Homes Not Handcuffs” buttons, Brooks said:
“This is not about arresting individuals. Understand the
facts.”
He pointed to provisions in the law that would require
police to first contact the person suspected of
unauthorized camping, assess their needs then point
them to services or shelters that would address those
needs.
There’s also language in the law requiring officers to
first issue a verbal warning, then a written one, before
any citations are issued.
“We need to protect our commercial district,” Brooks
said. “I don’t apologize for that at all.”
Assistant City Attorney David Broadwell said there are
similar laws in Boulder, Colorado Springs and Aspen.
The Boulder law was upheld in District Court last year
and the state Supreme Court declined to take the
case.
He said the warnings “go the extra mile” and are
unusual for existing city laws, where an officer can cite
a violator without such warnings.
The proposed law “does not prohibit merely sleeping,
so dozing on a park bench, per se, is not prohibited,”
he said. It also would allow for such events as Sports
Authority’s “SNIAGRAB” sale that typically draws
shoppers to camp on the sidewalk. Private property
owners would also be able to grant permission for
outdoor camping.
“Laws should regulate behavior, not status,” Broadwell
said. “This ordinance is about behavior, not [the]
status” of being homeless.
Though public comment is not usually allowed at
committee meetings, Chairwoman Jeanne Robb
allowed two representatives from each side two
minutes each to address the committee, which was
attended by almost every councilmember, not just
committee members.
John Parvensky, president of Colorado Coalition for
the Homeless, opposed the measure, saying it would
criminalize homelessness. But if a law is passed, he
urged the introduction of language that would prevent
an arrest or citation if the person had no other place to
sleep.
“No one should be forced into a choice of being
arrested if they have no where else to go because of
the lack of available shelters,” he said.
Downtown Denver Partnership Inc.’s Executive
Director Tamara Door said the downtown business
community needs help addressing the problem of
people sleeping on the streets.
“This has a severe impact on businesses and the
perception of our community,” Door said.
She said, after verifying with the Denver police, that
not one citation has been issued for those in violation
of the “sit and lie” law, enacted in 2005, which prevents
people from doing so on public right-of-ways between
the hours of 7 a.m. and 9 p.m.
The proposed law is still in draft form and will be heard
before the LUTI committee, and the Health and Human
Services Committee, before going to the full City
Council, April 30 — if it is passed by LUTI.
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