DOUGLAS COUNTY, Colo. — In a unanimous vote on Tuesday, the three Republican county commissioners created an ordinance that will make camping on Douglas County property illegal.
The chairman of the board, Abe Laydon, said people have become "victims of their own compassion" and it's time to use code enforcement alongside that compassion.
The ordinance, according to Laydon, means someone could be given a $1,000 dollar citation for camping on county property. This ordinance does not apply to city property within Douglas County.
The county has been considering a ban for a while, but hesitated because they weren't sure if it was legal without a homeless shelter in the county.
"The initial concern about a camping ban was the People vs. Weimold case which held that you had to have a shelter within the area in order to have code enforcement," said Laydon.
The county now believes reasonable access to shelters can be found in their neighboring counties.
If a homeless navigator team, called HEART in Douglas County, calls other counties and learns there are no spots in a shelter then, according to the ordinance, that person couldn't be cited for camping.
More recently, a court in Boulder dismissed parts of a lawsuit, making it legal to regulate temporary structures like tents. That dismissal made Douglas County more confident moving forward with a ban.
"And so there's current case law, current precedent that is upholding camping bans," said Laydon.
Despite parts of that Boulder lawsuit being dismissed, it is still moving through the courts. The ACLU is arguing if there is no open spot in a shelter, then a person shouldn't be cited for camping, which is why Douglas County has that caveat in their ordinance for now.
"It really is important we reclaim our public spaces and maintain the cleanliness and the safety within our community," said Laydon.
Cathy Alderman with the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless said the Douglas County ban is "yet another abdication of their responsibility" when it comes to people experiencing homelessness.
The organization is calling on the county to invest in accessible shelter, something Laydon said is not going to happen.
"So where there are sheltering opportunities in the Denver region which we are a part of, we feel comfortable availing ourselves of those resources," said Laydon.
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