Washington City Outlaws Sitting On Sidewalks

MONROE, WA - Sit or lie down on a sidewalk in Monroe and you could end up paying a $1,000 fine or spending time in jail. A new sidewalk-sitting ban went into effect last Thursday. City officials say the law will help pedestrians walk unimpeded, but the law would almost exclusively punish the homeless.

The Monroe City Council passed the ordinance in March. The law applies to all sidewalks within 100 feet of a doorway, and will be enforced between 6 a.m. and 2 a.m. daily.

Monroe police brought the law to City Council to "create a safe environment for pedestrians so the traffic is not obstructed," Deputy Chief Ken Ginnard told the Everett Herald.

If an officer finds someone breaking the law, Ginnard said, the officer will attempt to find shelter for the person. Monroe has a seasonal cold-weather shelter, and the Monroe Women's Gospel Mission accepts only homeless women.

Across Washington and the U.S., scores of cities have passed laws criminalizing homeless activity. Some laws ban giving food to the homeless, others outlaw panhandling in certain locations.

In December, the Tacoma City Council voted to extend the city's ban on camping. It's illegal to camp in public in Seattle, and the city has taken steps to install infrastructure that makes it impossible for homeless people to sleep outside.

Gig Harbor has outlawed giving donations to the homeless within 200 feet of specific intersections. Marysville has a law on the books banning sidewalk-sitting similar to Monroe's.

Police and city officials claim the laws are not aimed specifically at the homeless, but the laws certainly make life harder for them.

"Laws against encampments, trespassing and panhandling cause homeless people to be evicted from their dwellings, result in the destruction of their belongings, and restrict their free speech right to ask for help. When government restricts these essential, life-sustaining activities, it wrongly makes it a crime for homeless people to attempt to survive," the Washington American Civil Liberties Union has said of these laws.

Meanwhile, Puget Sound is grappling with a major increase in homelessness. Ironically, the booming local economy is part of the problem. Rising housing costs from Tacoma to Everett to Bellevue have forced many people out onto the streets.

The 2018 Snohomish County point-in-time count found 378 people sleeping outdoors, a 27 percent decrease from the 515 counted in 2017. Pierce County counted 1,628 homeless, with nearly half living in a tent, car, or abandoned building.

King County has the third-highest number of homeless in the country behind only New York City and Los Angeles. Nearly 12,000 homeless were counted in 2017. Thirty percent said they were homeless due to a job loss, and another 11 percent said it was due to eviction.

File photo by Neal McNamara/Patch