The Providence Village Town Council finalized an ordinance against sleeping in public spaces on Tuesday, though several members expressed reticence to pass it.
Council took its first look at the ordinance, which was added to the Offenses and Nuisances chapter of the code, in April when most members spoke in favor of the idea but had questions about several specifics including the list of affirmative defenses and other details.
“This is very similar to the draft that was brought forward last time,” City Attorney Fritz Quast said. “Last time, there were several affirmative defenses. Essentially those are carveouts that would be the burden of the defendant to prove. I’ve changed those to exceptions, which essentially means the start has the burden to prove the applicability of those.”
The reticence was born from the details. Several council members, including Klayton Rutherford, wanted to ensure the new ordinance would only ever apply to transient overnight sleepers. They looked to iron out as many details as possible to take police discretion out of the equation in fringe cases.
“I [have faith] in the current [police department] but rule will be in effect for future ones, and we never know,” Rutherford said. “Ultimately, the biggest exception is a good one. If they’re notified of it and they stop, that’s it, it’s over. The officer wakes them up and there is nothing to prosecute anymore. It is imperfect, but there is no perfect answer.”
One resident, Tilley Vartian, spoke against the ordinance, saying the code of ordinances already gives police options for discouraging obtrusive homelessness.
“If someone is in a public space and they are causing a nuisance, that’s covered,” Vartian said. “If they are littering, that’s covered. Sleeping isn’t a disturbing activity, and I don’t think it should be considered one. It doesn’t seem like this ordinance is necessary to protect our parks, to protect our community the way we want it to.”
Council followed unanimous approval of the above ordinance with two more unanimously approved items, both offering tax relief to citizens.
The first put a freeze on ad valorem taxes for seniors into effect.
“It doesn’t mean they are not going to pay taxes,” Town Manager Brian Roberson said. “They absolutely still will. It just means the current value of the house is capped when they hit 65.”
The following ordinance increases the homestead exemption in Providence Village from onehalf of 1 percent to no less than $10,000.
“This is another one where the growth is dictating what we have the capacity to increase,” Roberson said. “It really benefits those people who own property here and have designated their property is their homestead.”
