In a work session early next month the Juneau Assembly will begin work on an ordinance that \u2014 if passed in its current form \u2014 will make it harder to be homeless in the capital city.<\/p>\n
As written, ordinance 2016-44, commonly referred to as the camping ordinance, would give police the ability to remove people spending the night in the entryways of businesses in Juneau\u2019s downtown core.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can\u2019t see how any business downtown hasn\u2019t been negatively impacted by camping,\u201d said Phil Wheeler, owner of the Alaskan Fudge Company. \u201cPeople don\u2019t want to come downtown because of it.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to Wheeler, the homeless people who camp in entryways are leaving garbage, blankets \u201cand everything else\u201d in front of businesses when they wake and move on. So far as Wheeler can tell, nobody is camping in front of his shop on South Franklin.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf there are, they\u2019re gone by the time I get there in the morning,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
But he\u2019s seen the signs at other downtown businesses, he explained; he passes campers every morning on the way to work.<\/p>\n
Wheeler told the Empire on Wednesday that his business has suffered, and though he can\u2019t pinpoint the reason, he believes camping has something to do with it. He and other business owners, such as Tanja Cadigan of Caribou Crossing, took the issue to Mayor Ken Koelsch in early December, prompting him to establish an \u201cad hoc committee on homelessness.\u201d<\/p>\n
City Attorney Amy Mead is quick to clarify that Koelsch\u2019s \u201cad hoc committee\u201d is, legally speaking, more of a \u201cbrainstorming session\u201d than an actual committee. Whatever it is, it\u2019s affecting city policy after two meetings.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you have a crisis, and I consider this a crisis, you need to get going on something,\u201d Koelsch said in a phone interview Wednesday afternoon.<\/p>\n
After his first meeting with the group \u2014 which comprises several city officials, a downtown police officer and a handful of downtown business owners \u2014 Koelsch directed Mead to draft the camping ordinance, which will head to the Assembly Chambers for a work session on Jan. 9. Only Koelsch and the city manager have the authority to direct city staff to draw up an ordinance without the backing of an empowered board or city government body. <\/p>\n
The ins and outs<\/strong><\/p>\n The city already prohibits camping in public rights of way, such as sidewalks, but the entryways of downtown businesses are private property.<\/p>\n That would seemingly put the issue under the city\u2019s trespassing ordinance, but that\u2019s not the case, say Mead and Lt. David Campbell, a spokesperson for the Juneau Police Department.<\/p>\n In order for police to trespass somebody from private property, they must first receive a complaint from the property owner or an acting manager of that property. An officer can\u2019t trespass a camper on a business owner\u2019s behalf, nor can a passerby report a camper to the police and expect action.<\/p>\n \u201cThe property owner has to see it to initiate the trespass process,\u201d Mead said. \u201cThe problem is business owners don\u2019t man their businesses all night.\u201d<\/p>\n In the case of South Franklin Street\u2019s seasonal businesses, where homeless people frequently camp, property owners are out of the picture for months at a time.<\/p>\n Koelsch\u2019s ordinance would change this, allowing police officers to remove anybody camping without permission on private property downtown. Camping would be prohibited in the space between South Franklin and Main streets, from Fourth Street to the start of Thane Road.<\/p>\n Potential problems<\/strong><\/p>\n Though Koelsch, Wheeler and others in the brainstorming sessions see the ordinance as progress, there are some who see it as a problem.<\/p>\n Brian Wilson, executive director of the Alaska Coalition on Housing and Homelessness, lives in Juneau and has been keeping an eye on the ordinance. He said ordinances such as this are a normal reaction in cities with a visible homeless problem.<\/p>\n \u201cI understand that there can be economic or safety concerns, but I don\u2019t think that the solution is displacing people experiencing homelessness; it\u2019s housing them,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Most people involved with this ordinance don\u2019t see it as a standalone solution. City Manager Rorie Watt and Chief Housing Officer Scott Ciambor both said the ordinance alone won\u2019t solve the city\u2019s homelessness problem. Mead said that it is not to be looked at in isolation but rather as \u201ca companion piece\u201d to other city initiatives aimed at helping the homeless.<\/p>\n Ciambor is putting together an \u201crapid rehousing\u201d program that would aggressively secure housing and employment for people who have recently become homeless. He and other city officials are talking about emergency homeless shelters that would be open to everybody if the outside temperature dips below a certain threshold.<\/p>\n City officials are also considering keeping the city\u2019s Thane Road campground open all year. It currently closes during the winter. It is in an avalanche zone.<\/p>\n These ideas are nothing more than discussion topics, Ciambor said.<\/p>\n The way Wilson sees it, that is troublesome.<\/p>\n A cause for pause<\/strong><\/p>\n If the Assembly approves Koelsch\u2019s camping ordinance as written, it could be in effect by late February or early March.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s assuming that it flies through the Assembly,\u201d Mead noted. But that\u2019s not outside the realm of possibility. The ordinance is scheduled for a public hearing on Jan. 23.<\/p>\n If it were to go into effect before the city\u2019s housing alternatives \u2014 such as the Juneau Housing First Project, which is slated for a summer opening \u2014 come online, Wilson said that the city would effectively be forcing people to move on without a place to go.<\/p>\n Mead and others point out that downtown has a homeless shelter. That shelter has a sobriety requirement, and it kicks people out, sometimes permanently, if they misbehave. This can leave bad actors and addicts with little but the entryways as shelter.<\/p>\n \u201cI would really hope to see that if the Assembly does move forward with this ordinance, it\u2019s contingent upon the opening of additional shelters with low barriers to entry,\u201d Wilson said. \u201cOtherwise, where do these people go? That\u2019s the big question, and I think it\u2019s a logical question to ask.\u201d<\/p>\n Koelsch, author of the camping ordinance, says it should be passed regardless of what safety nets are in place.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve been dealing with the homeless and the vandalism and the aggressiveness that\u2019s being displayed, and we can wait until Juneau when Housing First opens up and hope that solves our problem or we can deal with it now,\u201d he said. \u201cRight now, as far as I\u2019m concerned, it\u2019s full steam ahead.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2022 Contact reporter Sam DeGrave at 523-2279 or sam.degrave@juneauempire.com.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In a work session early next month the Juneau Assembly will begin work on an ordinance that \u2014 if passed in its current form \u2014 will make it harder to be homeless in the capital city. 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