UPDATED: Missoula City Council approves new urban camping restrictions, effective immediately (2024)

The Missoula City Council approved new restrictions on urban camping on public property in the early hours of Tuesday morning after a nearly 10-hour meeting that started Monday evening.

The council voted 10-2 to approve the resolution. Councilors Daniel Carlino and Kristen Jordan voted against the new policy.

The resolution immediately went into effect overnight, according to Ryan Sudbury, city attorney for civil services.

The meeting ended at around 3:45 a.m. Tuesday.

"As much as it doesn't feel like progress, I actually do think this is a little bit of progress," said Sierra Farmer, Ward 2 councilor. "I know it's not perfect, but what I heard in the working group is what we are doing right now is not working, and that everyone wants to know what the rules are."

The resolution establishes several "buffer zones" that ban people from camping near certain areas— 100 feet from houses and businessesand 300 feet from shelters or schools. It bans camping altogether in Caras Park, McCormick Park, Westside Park, Rail Link Park and Jacob's Island Dog Park.

People sleeping outside must be 100 feet away from playgrounds, sports courts, splash pads, athletic fields, bandshells and pavilions in city limits.

People also cannot camp within 50 feet of the waters edge for the Clark Fork River, Rattlesnake Creek or Grant Creek within city limits. Conservation lands are banned altogether.

The resolution requires people camping in public places that don't fall into the above categories to take down their tents and remove their campsites between 8 a.m. until 8 p.m. The resolution also directs the mayor's office to look into providing necessary restrooms, garbage service and needle drop-off locations near areas where unsheltered living is allowed.

Previously, city policy banned all camping on public lands within city limits, but officials said the policy has been unenforceable after the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled people cannot be punished for sleeping outside when there is not enough shelter space available.

Several city councilors argued there is now space within the Johnson Street Emergency Shelter, which has a bed capacity of about 150 people. The shelter's future is dependent on receiving funding from the city council this summer.

The resolution was brought forth by Mayor Andrea Davis and city council members Amber Sherill, Mirtha Becerra, Mike Nugent, Stacie Anderson and Gwen Jones.

While a majority of city councilors approved of the resolution, most members of the public at the meeting opposed the new restrictions. Many said the city should first create a designated place where people can camp outside before enforcing the buffer zones.

Sharp comments against restrictions

More than 50 people spoke during the two-and-a-half-hour public comment portion of the meeting, with a vast majority of the room against the resolution.

Constitutional lawyers, a Missoula state representative and a New York Times bestselling author were among the opposition speakers, while members of the Missoula Midtown Association and the Missoula Chamber of Commerce voiced strong support.

Chris Patalano, a lawyer with constitutional expertise, said during public comment that the new resolution seems to violate the Constitution. He cited the first amendment for restricting where people can be and the 14th amendment for only targeting homeless people.

"As written, this law is a trap," said Patalano, who previously worked at Upper Seven law firm in Helena and is currently an independent lawyer.

State Rep. Zooey Zephyr walked into the council chambers at roughly 12:15 a.m. as public comment neared its end. She urged the council to name a place where people can camp before restrictions are set.

"I know when we sit in these chairs, we are forced to make difficult decisions," Zephyr said. "However, we should never make cruel decisions, and the policy before us today is one based on cruelty."

New York Times bestselling author Stephanie Land also spoke in opposition to the resolution. She focused her comment on the importance of securing housing, which is one of the center points of her 2019 book "Maid."

"Housing security allowed me to write my way out of food stamps," Land said.

Jill Bonny, the executive director of the Poverello Center, which also runs the Johnson Street Shelter, opposed the resolution because it creates penalties like fines for camping in the wrong areas.

"This is happening without telling people where they can be," said Bonny, one of the members of the mayor's Urban Camping Working Group.

Another working group member, Marthe Van Sickle, criticized the resolution for not following the guidelines of the Urban Camping Working Group, where the buffer zone debate was contentious and ultimately unresolved. She said she wanted to be clear that the working group did not approve the resolution.

Brad Carlson, a member of the working group who is also homeless, said he plans to protest the new rules.

"I do not believe that your resolution or the ordinance are compliant with my constitutional rights and therefore I will not be complying with them either, and I welcome you to come arrest me," Carlson said.

Some commenters spoke in favor of the resolution.

At least one commenter believed the restrictions around camping near waterways are not enough, and instead recommended banning camping from all greenways near waterways.

Melanie Brock with the Missoula Midtown Association approved of the resolution and said the new restrictions will be critical to limiting property damage and crime to the neighborhood around the Johnson Street Shelter.

"We recognize the challenge faced by those experiencing houselessness, and we want to seek compassionate and effective solutions," Brock said. "At the same time, the impact that urban camping is having on our community ... in Midtown Missoula and the rest of Missoula have become unbearable."

Directives for mayor's office

While part of the resolution established buffer zones, the document also set several timelines for the mayor's office to create services and other reports related to urban camping.

"My administration is committed to this ongoing work with the aim of getting connected to shelter and services to eventually get a roof over their head going forward," Mayor Davis said at the meeting.

The mayor's Urban Camping Working Group working group met five times this spring and created five different policies for the city to consider, including camping restrictions on city property, a registration system for people living in vehicles, buffer zones, an authorized camping area, and enforcement rules for people sleeping outside.

Councilors Carlino and Farmer amended some of the directives during the meeting to be more concrete.

For example, a program to develop support for unsheltered people, including providing storage space, trash collection and needle drop off locations must be presented to city council in the next three months, the resolution says.

The mayor must also create a registration system for people living in vehicles and "investigate the possibility" of a designated camping area, either on city or private property. No timeline was required for either directive.

The mayor's office must also return a new policy for sweeping camps during extreme weather events within the next 30 days.Earlier this year, The Missoulian reported Councilor Jordanpresented a resolution to ban sweeps in extreme weather,but the mayor's office blocked the policy.

Carlino also proposed several additional amendments, including to protect homeless people's private property and remove fines for urban camping, but they were denied by a majority of councilors.

Questions remain on where people can camp in Missoula, as no map has been produced by the city to direct people to a specific park or open space.

Mayor Davis cited Toole Park as a camping option and said the parks and public works department have identified other camping areas under the resolution, but no other specific site was listed Monday.

Councilor Farmer recommended the city create a map to better identify where people can camp.

City council is expected to develop more detailed policies on vehicle registration and enforcement rules for unsheltered living on June 12, with a final vote set for June 24.

"We believe these programs are critical, but (we) also understand it's neither practical nor feasible for them to be set up immediately," saidAmber Sherrill, city council president, at the meeting."But it's summer, and there's an urgent need for action."