City code outlaws camping in parks, permits it downtown

Ben Conley, The Dominion Post, Morgantown, W.Va.
Updated ·2 min read

Mar. 5—MORGANTOWN — Is it illegal to camp in White Park ?

Yes.

Is it illegal to camp in Krepps Park ?

Yes.

Is it illegal to camp on High Street ?

No.

In fact, Morgantown Police Department Deputy Chief P.J. Scott explained, parks are the only city property on which you can't set up camp.

"As far as I know, there is no specific prohibition on camping or sleeping anywhere in city code other than sections covering public parks, " he said.

The Dominion Post reached out to the MPD to ask if folks sleeping downtown are in violation of the law.

The short answer is no—as long as they're not blocking a street, sidewalk or building entrance.

"While sleeping or having property on public property is not directly prohibited by code, if someone sleeping or their property obstructs the sidewalk or hinders the entrance /exit of a building and they refuse to move, it could fall under a couple of different codes, particularly if they refuse to move, but that is extremely rare, " Scott said.

Could the city make it illegal ?

It could.

In fact, this past September Westover City Council unanimously approved an ordinance making it a misdemeanor punishable by a fine up to $500 and /or 30 days in jail to camp or store personal property on city property.

But there are questions nationally as to whether such laws, which essentially make it a crime to be homeless, are even enforceable.

Robert Martin v. City of Boise was filed in 2009 after homeless residents in Boise, Idaho, were fined or arrested for sleeping or camping in public.

In 2018, a panel of judges from the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said Boise's laws punishing homeless residents for sleeping in public violated the 8th Amendment's protections against cruel and unusual punishment because there were not adequate services available to provide an alternative.

A year later, that decision was appealed to the United States Supreme Court, which chose not to take up the case.

But even if Morgantown had such a law and the will to enforce it, it would still need the means.

"The city is divided up into three patrol zones where at least one officer is assigned 24 /7. One of those zones encompasses the downtown area, South University Avenue all the way to Walmart on Hornbeck Road and the South Park and Greenmont neighborhoods, " Scott said.

"Due to staffing issues at this time, we do not have any officers assigned specifically to a downtown foot patrol as we have in past years."