The ACLU of Alaska is suing the city of Anchorage over its plans to clear out a homeless encampment in Midtown.
The ACLU filed the suit on behalf of three homeless residents Thursday, asking a judge to issue a temporary restraining order against the city’s plan to abate a camp near Fireweed Lane and Arctic Boulevard on Monday.
ACLU spokeswoman Meghan Barker said the city’s shelters are currently full, and officials shouldn’t be able to force homeless residents to leave an area when they don’t have anywhere else to go.
“The municipality's practice of abating encampments without telling people where they can lawfully exist constitutes banishment,” Barker said. “And banishment is a form of cruel and unusual punishment, which is a violation of our state's constitution.”
A Supreme Court case ruling last year found that issuing penalties for camping on public land did not constitute cruel and unusual punishment.
As of Friday morning, roughly ten tents and temporary structures were at the encampment, with various abatement notices that were posted on January 31.
Barker said the lawsuit also claims that taking property from homeless people at the encampment constitutes an unreasonable seizure, and that the campers were not given reasonable notice to leave the encampment.
“Ten days is not enough time for someone to find alternative shelter or housing, especially given the fact that there is no available shelter space available in the municipality of Anchorage,” Barker said.
In a statement, Mayor Suzanne LaFrance described the abatement as a public safety measure, noting the camp's proximity to North Star Elementary School. According to the mayor, the area around the camp has had a high concentration of police calls.
“Parks & Recreation Healthy Spaces staff have removed over 8,000 pounds of trash from the site since November 2024, including over 1,000 pounds that slid down hill from the camp onto a sidewalk, obstructing pedestrian traffic,” LaFrance said.
She added that the city has done 17 camp abatements since July 1.
“We take public safety seriously, and we are following the law,” LaFrance said.
Barker said her organization is hopeful that a ruling will come on the abatement before Monday.
A similar lawsuit the ACLU filed against the city two years ago over its abatement practices is ongoing.
