Clarksburg City Council passes camping ordinance
CLARKSBURG, W.Va. (WBOY) — Last month, Clarksburg City Council passed a first reading and consideration of an ordinance prohibiting camping on public property and unauthorized private property, and on Thursday the ordinance was passed in front of a crowd of more than 50 people.
The council held its second and final reading of the camping ordinance and passed it with amendments, prohibiting camping on public and private property. The council also passed an ordinance to permit property owners and tenants to authorize the Clarksburg Police Department to enforce trespassing laws.
Several residents spoke out during the meeting about prohibiting camping on public and private land.
"I'm opposed to the camping because it's un-American, and it's inhumane. We already have laws preventing littering, trespassing, misbehavior, all the things that they claim to be concerned about and claim to solve this camping, we have laws for them already. This policy is redundant and is clearly targeted," Clarksburg resident Maelee Henderson said.
One of the amendments to the ordinance is that police will place a notice to vacate within 24 hours at an encampment. The second and third amendments refer to the start date for the ordinance, which is set to be Jan. 1, 2025 "or such time as an emergency shelter is open within the city and accepting new entrants, whichever is later."
If the effective date is determined to be after Jan. 1, 2025, the city clerk will record the new date in the city's records.
Previous coverage
City of Morgantown passes ordinance banning camping on public land
Clarksburg City Council discusses potential camping ordinance
Clarksburg City Council takes action on camping ordinance
Clarksburg Police Chief Mark Kiddy spoke during the meeting and said that right now, if he or another officer finds an encampment, he goes in and tells people living in the encampment that they need to move. Officers then check back in a day or two. Kiddy also said that a lot of times, encampments are vacant during daylight hours.
Under the ordinance, first-time offenders will be given a written warning describing the violation and provided information on seeking a proper shelter. Second-time offenders will receive a fine of no more than $200. Offenders who have a third incident within 12 months of the first violation will be fined no more than $500. Each day a violation continues shall be deemed a separate offense.
"This problem didn't just begin. Everybody's talking like we just need time. How much time does it take? At some point, we are responsible parties to do something. You know, when these individuals go out to clean up one of these encampments, they're not going out with these little pickers. They have to go out with the equipment to clean up these encampments. This isn't camping," said Clarksburg Councilman Marc Jackson.
Jackson added that he has a photo he took in March 2010 documenting an encampment under the 4th Street bridge. "Here we are now in 2024, and this problem in time hasn't gotten better, folks," he said.
Unless a person who violates the ordinance is offered proper shelter and refuses it, a citation or criminal charge will not be issued. In this case, the city offers an alternative indoor or outdoor location where a person may shelter overnight, which may include an emergency shelter.
"This is another tool that we are giving our police department, but it also opens up opportunity for us to engage and work with the homeless population and to provide them with other outlets. To continue working with the resources that are in the city that we were already working with this," Clarksburg Vice Mayor Jerry Riffle said.
In a statement last month, the West Virginia American Civil Liberties Union said the proposed ordinance could violate the civil liberties and rights of Clarksburg residents. The statement also urged the city to provide low-barrier housing options and better mental healthcare to the unhoused.
"Our constitutional rights are based on the idea of personal freedom, and this law attacks of the most basic freedoms, the right to merely exist in public spaces," Interim Executive Director of the ACLU of West Virginia Eli Baumwell said. "What you are proposing is particularly repugnant when you realize you're attacking people who are unable to go anywhere else."
Representatives from the ACLU of West Virginia also stated during the meeting that they are concerned that the process of the ordinance is disjointed and not transparent. They added that citizens could not see the ordinance without contacting the city office to obtain a copy of it.
