Washington lawmakers consider bill allowing people to sue cities over rules that restrict camping in public places

OLYMPIA – Washington lawmakers are considering a proposal that would allow people to sue cities and counties that restrict camping in public places.

Under the bill, which has cleared the House Housing Committee and is under consideration by the Appropriations Committee, regulations adopted by cities, towns, counties and other jurisdictions to restrict outdoor camping and sleeping on public property would be required to be “objectively reasonable for the time, place, and manner.”

The legislation would allow residents to challenge an ordinance in court if they believe it doesn’t meet that requirement. But what is “objectively reasonable” is not defined in the bill. It does not establish a framework for “monetary damages.”

The bill’s prime sponsor, Rep. Mia Gregerson, D-SeaTac, said during a hearing Wednesday that the proposal is “not a one -size -fits -all fix, but this bill does seek to help provide guideposts to allow each community to deal with their own unique challenges.”

The proposal, Gregerson said, is responding to a rising homeless population, which she attributed to a shortage of housing, a lack of affordable housing and a lack of shelter availability.

Gregerson said while lawmakers have made recent strides to create more housing, “the need continues to grow faster than the expansion of more access to these housing opportunities.”

Among those in support of the legislation are the ACLU of Washington, the Washington Low Income Housing Alliance and the Northwest Justice Project. Among the sponsors are Spokane Democratic Reps. Timm Ormsby and Natasha Hill. Attempts made to reach Ormsby and Hill were unsuccessful last week.

Wednesday’s hearing included objections from local officials throughout the state, including Spokane City Councilman Jonathan Bingle, who said he was testifying in his personal capacity.

“This bill is not just an overreach, it is a blatant affront to the democratic will of Spokane citizens,” Bingle said.

Bingle pointed to the approval of Proposition 1 in November 2023, which prohibits homeless residents from setting up camp in much of the city, including within 1,000 feet of parks, schools and child care facilities. The proposition was passed with nearly 75% approval, and Spokane police began enforcement last summer.

“This is a clear mandate from our community to prioritize public safety and the well-being of our children,” Bingle said. “By undermining local ordinances like Spokane’s Proposition 1, this bill jeopardizes public safety, it hampers our ability to maintain clear and secure public spaces, protect our children and uphold the quality of life our residents demand.”

Bingle added that potential challenges to Spokane’s ordinance “threatens to divert funds from essential services, exacerbating the issues it purports to address.”

Spokane business owner Larry Andrews, who protested the bill through a half-page ad published in The Spokesman-Review on Feb. 9, said during testimony Wednesday that the bill “does not help the homeless.”

“This bill confuses established laws,” Andrews said.

The ad, Andrews said, was meant to “save the homeless from this insanity.”

“You are not allowed to camp in our state without a permit, why would you allow people to camp on our streets?” Andrews said.

Testifying in support of the legislation, Sharyl Brown, director of operations at Jewels Helping Hands in Spokane, said during Wednesday’s hearing that the “burden of fines, citations and incarceration doesn’t just create obstacles, it resets the entire process.”

“People lose all progress towards stability, forced to navigate an already complicated system from square one again, making lasting success nearly impossible,” Brown said. “For many unhoused individuals, safety depends on being in public spaces, yet they are constantly penalized for simply existing when they have nowhere else to go.”