How Does Madison Rank in Criminalizing Homelessness?

Well, according to the Housing Not Handcuff’s report – not good, not the worst. However, I believe they missed a few of our ordinances and we rank worse than the report shows. The City-County Homeless Committee will be reviewing this report tonight.

It’s taken me almost 2 days to round up the information for this blog post and I’m just barely scratching the surface – I could go on and on and on and on.  I’ll spare you and just give you a 300,000 ft overview.  It’s been a long, strange, twisted journey advocating for homeless people in Madison.  Maybe with the new mayor we can really have change?  I’m not really holding my breath, but I guess its time to give it another shot.

THE REPORT

Here is the full report done in 2019 by the National Law Center for Homeless and Poverty.

THE GOOD*

According to the report, Madison does not have ordinances banning the following:

• Sleeping in public city wide
• Camping in public city wide
• Sitting/lying in particular places
• Lodging, living or sleeping in vehicles (or parking a vehicle uses a lodging/living accommodation)
• Loitering/Loafing/Vagrancy city-wide
• Begging in particular public places
• Food Sharing city-wide or in particular public places (i.e. bans)

* See Below “The Reality”.

THE BAD

We do have the following ordinances criminalizing homelessness

• Sleeping in particular public places
• Camping in particular public places
• Loitering/loafing in particular public places
• Begging in public places city-wide

THE REALITY

I did find the following ordinances or have had the following experiences that I believe we have that the report did not count:

• Sleeping in public city wide

While we have no city wide ban on sleeping in public, you will get a ticket if you are caught and are sleeping anywhere in public except for:

• • In a vehicle on the street, as long as you move it every 24 or 48 hours and don’t leave it idling
  • Between the sidewalk and the street in the terrace (According to a former Police Captain)

I know this primarily because Occupy Madison tried everything we could think of to find a legal place for people to sleep in the City of Madison and those were the only two solutions we were able to come up with – there is a ticket for almost everything else including the following:

• • Obstructing a sidewalk
  • Being in a park after hours
  • Being in a bus shelter if you’re not getting on a bus
  • Trespassing if you’re on private property or government property that is posted no trespassing (and those pink signs are everywhere)

• Camping in public city wide

While there is no ban on camping citywide – there also is no property where it is permitted except for Lake Farm Park.  It happens to be a zoning violation just about any place else.  The city has the following ordinances in addition to trespassing and being in a park after hours:

23.07 – UNLAWFUL TRESPASS.

(b) No person shall possess or use items commonly associated with sleeping or habitation, including but not exclusively, beds, mattresses, sleeping bags, bedrolls, blankets, pillows, sheets, quilts and comforters on the property of another without the permission of a person lawfully upon the premises. (Cr. by Ord. 10,924, 6-17-94)

(13) … any person violating any of the provisions of Subsections (5) or (6) or (7) of this section shall be subject to a forfeiture of not more than three hundred dollars ($300).

8.265 – LODGING IN PARKS PROHIBITED.

(1) It shall be unlawful for any person to lodge, to live in for a time, or to take habitation in any portion of a public park within the City of Madison. Evidence of lodging shall include but not be limited to bedrolls, mattresses, blankets, cooking utensils, clothing, and other personal belongings.

(2) Penalty. Any person who violates this section shall be subject to a forfeiture of not less than twenty-five dollars ($25) nor more than two hundred dollars ($200). Each and every day during which a violation continues shall be deemed to be a separate violation.

ILLEGAL TO CAMP ON PRIVATE PROPERTY WITH PERMISSION OF THE OWNER

We found with my property and Mr. Vang’s property – we weren’t allowed to give people permission to sleep on private property either.  We both faced fines of up to $200/day if we allowed people to stay because it was a zoning violation.  When people set up a single tent in another back yard, they too were threatened with tickets.

• Sitting/lying in particular places

In Madison we tend to just remove places to sit such as the following:

• • Removing benches in the Madison Municipal Building
  • Removing chairs in the City-County Building
  • Removing the Philosopher Stones
  • Benches on State Street

After removing the seating, the City-County Liaison Committee created this policy:

• • Sitting on floors in corridors and stairways is prohibited.

Or, we just put things in the way so you can’t sit there such as

• • Art
  • Hostile architecture
  • Arms in the middle of benches so people can’t lie down

However, it is against city policy to be caught “sleeping, napping or dozing” in:

• • Any public library
  • Monona Terrace, or
  • Senior Center (I’m pretty sure, but I can’t find the policy on-line)

• Lodging, living or sleeping in vehicles (or parking a vehicle uses a lodging/living accommodation)

In the City of Madison what we do when people are sleeping in vehicles we put two hour parking on the streets like we did on Wilson and other places.

• Loitering/Loafing/Vagrancy city-wide

While we have no particular ordinance prohibiting this, in effect, all our other ordinances combined have the effect of having this policy in effect.

• Begging in particular public places

24.12 seems to fit this description – particularly the part that says:

It shall be unlawful for any person to procure or attempt to procure a handout within twenty-five (25) feet of any of the following locations:

(a) an alcohol licensed establishment;

(b) Central Business District;

(c) an intersection;

(d) an open sidewalk café; or

(e) an automatic teller machine (ATM).

And it has a map of the Central Business District

• Food Sharing city-wide or in particular public places (i.e. bans)

This one, the police just pressure the volunteer groups who provide food not to do it in areas that where they want to discourage homeless persons from congregating.  Or they use Public Health laws or require permits.

OTHER COMMON CRIMINALIZATION LAWS

Evictions of Encampments

• Sweeping people out from sleeping by the City-County Building

Storing personal property in public

• Has gone very poorly at the top of State Street (and here), in the dog kennels, shutting down the storage facility and at the City County Building

Urination/Defecation

• The quest to get public restrooms has also gone awry here in the great City of Madison with the Porta-potty in the sky, and committee that met forever with not results,

Rummaging/Scavenging/Dumpster Diving

• Yes, we even have a law preventing collecting aluminum cans.

10.18 – COLLECTION OF REFUSE AND RECYCLING OF WASTE.

(9) Limitations on Collection of Solid Waste .

(f) No person shall remove any recyclable items from a private premise, recyclable container or dumpster without the consent of the occupant, owner or lessee of the premise. (Cr. by ORD-09-00072, 5-8-09)

WHAT SHOULD BE DONE INSTEAD

A discussion of all these alternatives  starts on page 85, perhaps not all can be done under Wisconsin laws.  None can be done without political will.

• Cities should invest in Permanent Housing Solutions using a Housing First model
  • Permanent Supportive Housing
• Governments should expand access to affordable housing subsidies
• Governments should dedicate funding streams to housing and services for homeless people.
  • Tax on gross receipts of large companies (needs to be done at state level)
  • Sales Tax (County collects sales tax)
  • Social Impact Bonds
• Solicit Corporate and Private Donations
• Governments should utilize surplus property to provide housing and services
• Governments should embrace innovative housing solutions
• Accessory Dwelling Units
• Tiny Home Communities
• Community Land Trusts
• Vehicle and RV Parking Options
• Governments should stop using punitive approaches to homelessness
  • Repeal, defund, and stop enforcing laws that criminalize homelessness
  • Prohibit the criminalization of homelessness through legislation
  • Stop sweeping encampments without offering adequate alternatives
  • Stop relying on police to be first responders to homelessness
  • Improve police training and enforcement protocols
• Governments should help homeless people meet basic human needs until housing is available.
  • Establish places where people can store their property
  • Provide access to toilets
  • Provide unhoused people with trash services
  • Provide people with shower and laundry services