The Colorado Springs City Council expressed a few concerns Monday about expanding an ordinance that prohibits sitting, kneeling, reclining on or lying down on public sidewalks, trails and other rights of way in Old Colorado City and downtown.
The Colorado Springs Police Department is proposing a revision to the existing ordinance that would expand the boundaries where the rule applies to encompass some of the city’s new venues like Robson Arena and Weidner Field, and the Springs Rescue Mission where police have seen a significant problem with people blocking rights of way. Police data shows a need for expansion of the ordinance to address safety issues in the new areas, Commander John Koch said.
“It’s unsafe for both the people [who] are engaging in that conduct. It opens them up to being preyed on by other individuals, being hit by vehicles. … It’s also unsafe for business owners and residents that live in these areas,” he said.
The ordinance sparked a protest when it was passed in 2016 by those who described it as criminalizing homelessness.
Councilwoman Yolanda Avila was the only councilmember to voice her direct opposition to the rule, saying she would like to focus on the root causes of homelessness instead, such as addiction.
“I would like us as a city to be more compassionate,” she said.
A few other council members raised some practical questions about the enforcement of the existing ordinance.
The ordinance, called the Pedestrian Access Act, is in effect downtown from east St. Vrain Street to Cimarron Street and from Interstate 25 on the west to South Wahsatch Avenue. The law is in place from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and until 3 a.m. Friday and Saturday nights. Municipal court can fine violators up to $500 or impose a jail sentence of up to 90 days, city code states. Those consequences follow warnings.
The ordinance makes exceptions to the rule for those who use wheelchairs or are watching parades, among others.
The revision would expand the boundaries where the law is in place north to east Cache La Poudre Street and south to Cheyenne Road.
A city of Colorado Springs map shows where the expanded boundaries of an area where residents would be prohibited from sitting, lying, kneeling or reclining in the right of way.
The police have received many hundreds of calls reporting trespassing, disturbances and suspicious activity in the areas where the expansion of the ordinance is proposed, demonstrating the problem, Koch said.
Koch said he could not say whether the problem had been pushed out of central downtown where the ordinance is in place because so many factors have influenced homelessness since the ordinance was passed, including the coronavirus.
“We just know the problem exists in the areas where we are requesting an expansion,” he said in an interview.
Numerous shelter beds are typically available to serve people who are in violation of the ordinance, he said.
“It’s not, as far as we have seen, a matter of resources not existing for these individuals to use,” Koch said.
Councilman Bill Murray expressed concern that the police were expanding the boundaries where enforcement is possible, but not expanding the number of police officers dedicated to the area.
“If you can’t handle what you got, why would you suggest you can handle more?” he said.
Councilman Dave Donelson said he would like the police department to track data about similar complaints, such as camping, around the boundaries of the newly covered area, if the expansion is approved, to see if homeless residents are simply pushed into surrounding neighborhoods.
Councilwoman Nancy Henjum said she would like to see additional best practices that could be used before enforcement of the law is necessary and perhaps before the police are involved.
“I just think we need to be thinking really holistically about this,” she said.
The council is expected to vote on the ordinance revision Jan. 25.
This content was originally published here.
