BERKELEY — A court ruling has prompted Berkeley to kill a proposal to ban lying and camping at the new downtown BART station plaza.
The federal 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled earlier this month that it is unconstitutional for cities to prosecute people for sleeping on the streets has Berkeley rethinking its own policies.
The ruling stems from a lawsuit over a Boise, Idaho, ordinance banning people from sleeping in public places. Six homeless people sued the city in 2009, claiming Boise had only about 700 shelter beds available for an estimated 4,500 homeless people. The lawsuit bounced around in the courts for years until three 9th circuit judges ruled the ordinance is a violation of the U.S. Constitution’s Eighth Amendment against cruel and unusual punishment.
The ruling came up at the Berkeley City Council’s meeting Thursday, at which council members were supposed to vote on whether to prohibit lying and camping at the renovated plaza for the Downtown Berkeley BART station. The plaza on Shattuck Avenue between Center Street and Allston Way is being remodeled and is expected to be completed in the coming months.
Mayor Jesse Arreguin suggested killing the item — which he brought forth — in light of the ruling; the other council members concurred. In an interview Friday, Arreguin said the city attorney’s office is reviewing the city’s current rules and policies that impact homeless people in light of the decision.
“At the end of the day, the City Council and I agree with the key finding of this decision, which is that people who do not have shelter should not be criminalized,” Arreguin said.
At the Oct. 16 meeting, Arreguin and Councilwoman Sophie Hahn plan to propose the city formally take a look at existing resolutions, policies and law in light of the ruling, he said. Council members also plan to asks city staff at the Oct. 16 meeting to look deeper into the city’s sidewalk policy, which Arreguin said is still in development. The policy limits where people can sit, lie and keep their belongings on sidewalks.
Arreguin said he believes the city’s current sidewalk policy complies with the ruling, since it calls for notices to be given and for people who violate the rules to have a chance to move their stuff before being ticketed, he said.
The city will not intervene or remove homeless encampments unless there are repeated complaints about them or if there a safety concern, he said.
“Our take-home policy is pretty reasonable and does not result in widespread sweeps of homeless encampments,” he said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.