BOISE, Idaho (CBS2) — The Boise City Council voted on Tuesday to approve a new city ordinance, allowing the homeless to camp outside when no shelter space is available.
The city agreed to the change to settle a lawsuit. It was sued more than a decade ago after Boise police arrested several people for sleeping on the streets. The city council approved the ordinance unanimously.
It changes several sections of the city code, including parts relating to camping in public places, police enforcement of homeless sleeping outdoors, and defining what is considered disorderly conduct. For Boise City Council President Elaine Clegg, these changes have been a long time coming.
She was here for the start of the lawsuit back in 2009 and is relieved to finally see its end.
"I am the only councilmember who's been here since the beginning of this, and quickly learned that we were going to have to inject ourselves into the process," Clegg said.
Although the city spent nearly $2 million fighting the lawsuit, some councilmembers said this latest ordinance will put humane practices in place when dealing with the homeless. That includes instructing police not to fine or arrest homeless people for sleeping outside if there is no shelter space available.
For the council, tackling such a widespread issue is difficult.
"I know the sacrifices that we've made to be in this position where we get to help our community be better than it was yesterday,"Council President Pro Tem Lisa E Sánchez said. "And today was one of those days for me."
Boise's Housing and Community Development department worked on a system in which shelters can report how many beds it has available and share that information with police. It is no longer considered disorderly conduct to sleep outside when shelters are full, which is part of the council's ongoing efforts to improve the homeless situation.
The council said this ordinance is just a way of solidifying what it's been working toward.
"Most importantly, this is a signal that we are ready to make these investments in a way that gets to the long-term best solution, which is housing first," Boise Mayor Lauren McLean said. "And I look forward to that work."
During the lawsuit, the Boise City Council authorized a $300,000 payment to a California-based law firm to argue the city's side of its camping ban in front of the U.S. Supreme Court. The court declined to hear the argument. Now that the lawsuit is over, the city plans to move forward with a ‘housing first’ mindset.
Next, the City of Boise will begin payments of $1.3 million to non-profit groups aimed at preventing homelessness.
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