Several small towns in Ohio are considering bans on camping or sleeping in public; local ordinances that would impact homeless people living in open-air encampments.
This trend follows a landmark decision by the U.S. Supreme Court in June, which found that banning camping is not cruel and unusual punishment.
Later this month, the Newark City Council could vote to ban camping in public parks — a proposal that has drawn support and criticism. Downtown business owners and city leaders are frustrated by the ongoing problem and low-income residents are angry about their limited options. Newark is located 40 miles east of Columbus.
In September, New Philadelphia passed a ban on camping in parks, cemeteries or city property. Campers would receive a notice to remove their belongings within 24 hours. The police can then clear the camp and issue fines. The city is located about 30 miles south of Canton.
Mentor, a city on Lake Erie east of Cleveland, passed an ordinance in August banning the use of bedding, cooking food or other residential activities on public property. Mentor officials described it as a public safety measure.
“This is not an ordinance that is against anyone. I want to make that public statement. This is just to address specific behavior where, quite frankly, it will do more harm than good and will actually endanger individuals,” Joseph said Szeman, legal director of Mentor. during the council meeting.
Anti-public camping ordinances are also being discussed in Toledo, Wilmington, Marietta, Brunswick and Belpre, according to local news reports and the Coalition on Housing and Homelessness in Ohio.
What causes this trend? In June, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a 6-3 ruling upholding the constitutionality of a local law in Grants Pass, Oregon, that bans camping on public land. According to the majority decision, it is not within the federal court’s jurisdiction to decide how local governments deal with people who sleep outside.
The decision paved the way for other cities to implement similar bans.
In Ohio, 11,386 people are homeless, according to 2023 data from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Of those people, 79% live in shelters. Nationally, HUD reported in 2023 that 653,100 people were homeless on one night in 2023 – an increase of 12%, or 70,650 more people, from 2022.
Marcus Roth, spokesman for the Coalition on Homelessness and Housing in Ohio, said fewer people were willing to live in shelters and move to outdoor encampments during the pandemic. That made the problem more visible.
But once someone is unsheltered and living outdoors, they need more help finding housing and support services, he said.
“This criminalization path is tempting for politicians who want to give the impression that they are doing something about homelessness without actually doing anything. They actually make the problem a lot worse,” Roth said.
Cities should avoid such knee-jerk reactions and instead focus on expanding support for those without shelter and addressing the affordable housing crisis, he said.
Laura Bischoff is a reporter for the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, which serves the Columbus Dispatch, Cincinnati Enquirer, Akron Beacon Journal and 18 other affiliated news organizations in Ohio.
This article originally appeared in The Columbus Dispatch: U.S. Supreme Court decision spurs Ohio cities to ban public camping
