Washington cities enforce camping bans despite State Constitution against cruel punishment

Following California’s executive order to enforce camping ban legislation, more Washington cities are adopting similar codes, despite what homeless advocates and coalitions deem a human rights issue.

In November 2022, the City of Tacoma passed an ordinance which prohibits people from camping and storing belongings on public property within 200 feet of mapped waterways and in a 10-block radius around temporary shelters and Aspen Court, an emergency housing facility.

Like many cities in Washington state, Tacoma and Lakewood’s City Councils are following California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s executive order that enforces camping ban legislation, which passed in July 2024. These ordinances have passed despite political opinions clashing on what several homeless advocates and coalitions deem to be a human rights issue.

Ordinance 28831 is an amended version which was passed on Oct. 11, 2022 with the sponsors John Hines, Joe Bushnell and Sarah Rumbaugh, according to the City of Tacoma. The Tacoma City Council voted 6-3 decision at the time, with the Mayor Victoria Woodards opposed, according to the Tacoma News Tribune.

On Aug. 5, 2024, the City of Lakewood adopted a similar municipal code, Ch. 8.76.280 which prohibits camping in any park unless permitted by the City.

These decisions came despite a 2018 ruling filed by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit which has jurisdiction over Washington and eight other states, wherein the panel held that as long as there is no option of sleeping indoors, the government cannot criminalize homeless people for sleeping outdoors on public property on the false premise it was by choice.

In the case of Martin v. City of Boise, No.15-35845, the plaintiff’s attorney claimed the city ordinances were unconstitutional and in violation of the Eighth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution’s prohibition of cruel and unusual punishment, according to Justia Law.

 “Essentially [the camping ban] just like many of these laws tries to push people out of the community into other communities,” Coalition Member Robb Huff said during a public meeting by the Tacoma Pierce County Coalition (TPCC) to End Homelessness on Friday, Oct. 4.

In an email to the Tacoma City Clerk’s Office on Sept. 20, 2022, President Mark Andrews of the Addison Construction Supply, Inc. wrote “The Camping, the motorhomes and the trailers are a network of criminals that seize all opportunity to steal from the businesses and households that are paying the Property, B and O and Sales Tax that pay the Cities bills.”

Several organizations and coalitions, including the Tacoma Needle Exchange Program, Sunrise Tacoma, Tacoma Housing Now and the TPCC have spoken out in opposition to the camping bans passed in Washington cities.

The Tacoma Needle Exchange even relinquished $50,000 of funding provided by the City of Tacoma at the time the Tacoma ordinance was passed, with Executive Director Lakosky claiming that the city’s aggressive sweeping of zones has made it harder to build relationships with the homeless population and has put his employees in hostile situations at work, according to the Tacoma News Tribune.

Multiple advocates for the homeless population sent letters in 2022 urging the city to stop the ordinance from passing. Research Associate and Assistant Methodologist Amanda Richer of the University of Massachusetts, who experienced homelessness in Seattle herself, spoke up for the unhoused.

“There are simply not enough safe, accessible, and non-congregate shelter spaces available – in this context it is unacceptable to put additional restrictions on folks with little or no alternative,” Richer wrote to the Clerk.

Richer uploads videos on YouTube advocating for the acceptance of basic human rights, discussing advocacy efforts and occasionally posting about how she is still searching for her missing son on the streets of Seattle. She also attended the National Coalition for Homelessness Leadership Conference in 2023 according to a video titled “Pushing Forward – Advocacy” on her YouTube channel which discusses the issue.

“The homelessness crisis weakens practically every other civic interest the council is concerned with, including public safety, public health, mental health, parks, schools and families. We need bold, direct measures that work towards solving, not criminalizing it,” Richer wrote to the Clerk.

Attorney Scott Crain for the Northwest Justice Project (NJP) said during the coalition meeting that over in Mason County, the Washington Cities Insurance Authority put out a news release that urged caution on behalf of cities in complicating the crisis through the courts.

WCIA Executive Director Ann Bennett urged cities to think about the litigation costs, as if a case makes its way to the Supreme Court, the costs amount to hundreds of thousands of dollars, according to the Shelton-Mason County Journal.

There are no requirements under the ordinances or municipal codes that shelter be available before encampments are removed by the city Homeless Engagement Alternative Liaison Teams. The ordinance carries a maximum punishment of 30 days prison time and a maximum fine of $250 for each violation, according to the City of Tacoma.

“If you look at the map of where you can’t camp, it would be anyone’s guess as to whether you were in a prohibited zone or not, and if you can’t really tell that you’re violating the law then you shouldn’t be criminally punished for it,” Attorney Crain said.

The NJP handles case law surrounding homelessness and city camping bans on behalf of plaintiffs in Seattle, arguing that since Article I, Section 14 of the Washington State Constitution bans cruel punishment, the ordinance is in violation of the law. The second claim made is that it violates due process by pushing people out of the city without shelter even available for them to stay, and the map’s zones can also be amended at any time by the City Manager, according to Crain.

In 2023, Pierce County reported that 763 people were unsheltered, with 1,385 sheltered, while the report for 2024 shows 1,216 people were unsheltered, while 1,445 people were sheltered. This year, a total of 2,661 people are experiencing homelessness, which is 23% higher than last year, according to the Point-In-Time Count by Pierce County.

“I think everybody on both sides of the case, you know, it’s not our goal to have people in tents on the sidewalk, it’s our goal to have people in housing. And by having the city force people to Seattle, to White Center, to SeaTac you’re just pushing people around,” Crain said.

In Pierce County, there are 2184 households experiencing homelessness, 143 of which are with children and 16 households with an only child. In addition, there are 181 unaccompanied youths throughout the county and 626 people were reported to have a Tacoma Zip code, according to Pierce County records.

Homelessness does not only impact those struggling with drug use. Due to inflation, unaffordable housing, life circumstances or medical bills, everyday people are finding themselves in tough situations.

During the coalition meeting on Oct. 4, Crisis Case Manager Josh Graham of Family Promise Pierce County posted Shelter Hub data, which had an active family count of 116 with 492 children, along with an additional 55 families and 119 children on a waitlist for emergency shelter.

“The city and the county and the state are the ones that need to really step up and create those solutions for people to have places to go,” Crain said.

If you are a UW student experiencing or on the verge of homelessness, you can reach out to the Office of Student Advocacy and Support, which provides referrals to support services.