Lawton City Council wants to explore options before making homeless camping illegal

City Council members are committed to cracking down on homeless people who sleep on sidewalks and other public places, but are still trying to decide what alternatives that law enforcement can offer such people.

The council had been slated to approve a new ordinance that makes unauthorized camping in public places illegal, after a discussion about options city police can offer homeless people before citing them for the offense.

It’s an action that is drawing mixed reviews, to include residents like Amber Delger who said the ordinance is “criminalizing homelessness” and some members of the Homeless Action Committee who fear the consequences of making camping illegal without offering the homeless options. Supporters said the city must curb actions by some homeless people who are sleeping in parks, sidewalks and doorways of businesses, threatening residents and employees and causing other problems.

Council members said Tuesday they weren’t ready to make a final decision on those options, with some criticizing city staff for bringing the issues to the council floor without those options being fully explored. City Manager John Ratliff said options must be in place before the ordinance goes into effect because of a provision that specifies a first-time citation can be waived if the homeless person accepts recommendations for assistance.

Council members learned about two such proposals on Tuesday: designating Olson Park in south Central Lawton as a homeless camping site and converting the old Roosevelt Elementary School to a Day Center for the homeless. City staff and Bernita Taylor, director of MIGHT Community Development and Resource Center, say the sites are ideal because they are in an area where homeless people already congregate because of nearby services.

“If you criminalize camping within the city limits, you need some place code enforcement can tell people to go,” Ratliff said, explaining the ordinance allows the city to make exceptions to the law against camping on or in public places.

Mayor Stan Booker said it’s among the solutions being posed to address a problem faced by communities across the nation, adding everyone is experimenting with solutions to homelessness.

“What we’re doing is not working,” Booker said, adding as the city identifies possible solutions, those ideas will be referred to the Homeless Action Committee for vetting.

Ward 8 Councilman Randy Warren said Lawton doesn’t have a choice: homelessness, already a huge problem, is growing and there is no one-size-fits-all solution because of the variety of issues that may cause someone to become homeless, including mental health.

“We need to find a way to address that,” he said. “We literally have people sleeping on benches downtown.”

Warren emphasized Olson Park and the Day Center are temporary solutions, saying the idea is to use the park until city officials find a better solution.

“The issue is larger than where to stay to sleep,” he said, adding the city “has to start somewhere. There’s a lot of problems.”

Ward 5 Councilman Allan Hampton said designating Olson Park as a sleeping spot could be a problem, adding he already has heard from Ward 5 constituents who are “not too excited about moving in this direction.” Hampton said business owners have come to him with problems about the homeless, adding he knows one businessman who is exploring sites outside Lawton because of the problems he faces.

Taylor agreed there are various reasons people are homeless, so a variety of solutions must be identified.

“We have to ensure we are helping,” she said, adding collaborative efforts are necessary, with input from agencies ranging from police and fire to health facilities and job placement entities.

Amber Delger, who works with the homeless through several entities urged caution, saying the council is talking about “criminalizing human beings for just being human.”

“You’re telling them they can’t live on the street, and that’s not fair,” she said.

Delger said there are multiple reasons for homelessness, including a simple inability to afford a place to live. Delger said she knows one woman, homeless for seven years, who has been on a waiting list for a place to live for a year. Those types of situations will worsen as landlords increase the cost of rent.

“We are pricing people out of a place to live,” Delger said, adding she knows one family who had a home for years until their landlord evicted them so he could increase the rent after remodeling the house.

Council members ultimately decided to table any action on the issue Tuesday, agreeing with city staff that the ordinance can’t be put into effect until places of assistance are set. Those proposals will be referred to the Homeless Action Committee for discussion before returning to the council floor.