EAST LANSING — City officials are working with the Michigan Coalition Against Homelessness in response to the public discord over a proposed camping ban that critics say would criminalize the homeless and push them further toward the fringes of society.
An ordinance the City Council is considering aims to prevent signs of camping on public property – such as sleeping bags and bedding materials, along with stoves and cookware indicating temporary living places. Critics argue the proposal would leave people who are homeless more vulnerable.
Violations would come with potential $25 fines that could increase upon subsequent violations.
“You’ve made East Lansing a sundown town again if you enact this,” said Patrick Rose, an Oxford Road resident and one of many who criticized the ordinances during council’s Feb. 3 session. “You’re kicking them into invisibility and making them in a vastly worse position.”
City Manager Robert Belleman responded to the criticism by calling for a meeting between himself, City Attorney Steven Joppich, City Council members Chuck Grigsby and Kerry Ebersole Singh and representatives of the ACLU and Michigan Coalition Against Homelessness.
“I think there’s opportunity to sit down, learn a little more and make sure our ordinances are responsive to those concerns,” Belleman said at the meeting.
Nicholas Cook, the public policy director of the Lansing-based Michigan Coalition Against Homelessness, confirmed that meeting happened Feb. 12, less than a week before council’s Feb. 17 session and that city officials agreed to take another look at the proposed ban.
Cook helped draft a letter for the ACLU that criticized East Lansing’s proposal.
“We are concerned that the Proposed Ordinance threatens the constitutional and human rights of unhoused East Lansing residents for attempting to shelter themselves, even when there is no available alternative,” the letter read, “and we urge you to reject the ordinance and promote housing solutions in East Lansing instead.”
Cook said that there’s been a rise in criminalizing the homeless across the state, perhaps because of President Donald Trump’s July order about “ending crime and disorder on America’s streets.”
“Shifting homeless individuals into long-term institutional settings for humane treatment through the appropriate use of civil commitment will restore public order,” the order read. “Surrendering our cities and citizens to disorder and fear is neither compassionate to the homeless nor other citizens. My Administration will take a new approach focused on protecting public safety.”
In Genesee County, the Vienna Township Board of Trustees adopted in December an ordinance banning people from staying overnight or camping on township property without proper authorization.
The Michigan Department of Transportation has a rule that affects people who are homeless, including limits on stays at Michigan’s rest areas for longer than 48 hours. The rules are not, however, enforceable by police, and the agency has been working to make them so. The policies would impact rest areas, roadside parks, carpool lots and other state property.
“People are allowed to sleep for short periods of time in their camper, and they wouldn’t be in direct violation of the rules, though our rest areas were never intended to be ‘campsites,'” said Aaron Jenkins, an MDOT spokesperson. “The bigger issue with people ‘camping’ at rest areas is the setting up their canopies, dog pens, generators, etc.”
East Lansing councilmembers also are considering another ordinance that would deter loitering and crowd gathering in public parking ramps and lots.
Cook has concerns about how the proposed ordinances would be enforced and would rather council invest more in connecting the homeless with the proper resources than approving a camping ban and parking ramp restrictions.
East Lansing Mayor Erik Altmann, councilmembers Grigsby and Singh and Belleman did not respond to requests for comment.
Rudy Richmond manages the Jolly Pumpkin. He said people who are homeless can be a bother in the summers by smoking or drinking as they pass by the patio.
“I wouldn’t want my kids to see that,” he said. “It does scare off business because they don’t want to come down there and deal with it. What they’ve done is basically make an outdoor apartment for these people. And they never leave. It is public property and they can’t really do anything about it.”
He’s not sure how to consider the proposed ordinance.
“I’m glad they’re doing something, but I don’t know if that’s going to really work out.”
East Lansing’s only major shelter is Haven House, which only serves families with minor children, which means the city’s population of people who are homeless could shift to Lansing, which has more shelters and services for the homeless.
Pushing the homeless population into Lansing would likely exacerbate problems there. Lansing officials have noted that homelessness is a regional problem despite a majority of services being in Lansing.
Mayor Andy Schor declined to talk about East Lansing’s proposed ordinance.
“All communities in the area are dealing with issues surrounding homelessness and housing insecurity, including East Lansing,” city spokesman Scott Bean said in an email. “The City of Lansing is appreciative of the support we have been getting from Ingham County and would love to see more local communities stepping up to assist our unhoused neighbors.
“Mayor Schor has not seen the language in their proposed ordinance or how they plan to enforce it, so is not going to offer an opinion on this right now.”
Contact editor Susan Vela at svela@lsj.com or 248-873-7044. Follow her on Twitter @susanvela.
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: East Lansing considers new rules to crack down on homelessness
Reporting by Susan Vela, Lansing State Journal / Lansing State Journal
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