Individuals found camping or sleeping on public property in Palmer may face fines under a new measure approved by the City Council during a regular meeting Tuesday.
A separate measure banning sleeping in spaces that block access to public property, such as private driveways and sidewalks, was delayed until a meeting scheduled for late next month.
The council voted 4-1 to approve the public property camping ban, with Council member John Alcantra voting no and Council member Amanda Graham absent. A seventh council seat is vacant.
The ban is designed to reduce the practice of homeless people sleeping on city streets but not the status of being homeless, city officials said.
Palmer police will enforce the new rule, officials said. Individuals who violate the measure may receive information about local resources and could face fines of up to $300, according to the measure.
That fine amount may be adjusted as part of the city’s new budget, which starts in January, city officials said.
There are no homeless shelters in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough. Warming stations in the region operate on a case-by-case basis, depending on the weather forecast.
Palmer police make regular contact with about 10 unhoused individuals, down from about 40 in 2022, Cmdr. Luke Szipzsky said in a statement.
The council opted to delay the related measure addressing sleeping on driveways and sidewalks and send it back to the city attorney for additional review and edits. That proposal is meant to ban individuals from blocking public spaces, but does not clearly state that the city lacks authority over private property, council members said.
The delay passed 4-1, with Council member Victoria Hudson voting no.
Palmer police make regular contact with about 10 unhoused individuals, down from about 40 in 2022, Cmdr. Luke Szipzsky said in a statement.
The council opted to delay the related measure addressing sleeping on driveways and sidewalks and send it back to the city attorney for additional review and edits. That proposal is meant to ban individuals from blocking public spaces, but does not clearly state that the city lacks authority over private property, council members said.
The delay passed 4-1, with Council member Victoria Hudson voting no.
The measures were originally set for a vote earlier this month but were postponed to give newly elected council members time to review the issue and allow the city attorney to update some of the proposed language.
The ordinances were the subject of lengthy public comment during Tuesday’s meeting, with about two dozen individuals testifying for or against the proposals. Supporters said the ban is a necessary step that gives Palmer police a way to protect public safety, while some who testified against the measure said it unnecessarily penalizes homelessness.
Alcantra, who said he experienced homelessness as a child and lived in a tent with his mother and sisters on a property now occupied by the Palmer Courthouse, voted against the ban because “it’s the wrong execution of a right idea" of getting people off the street, he said.
“You have to bring your own compassion, your own religious beliefs, if you will. I know I’ve been counseled against that. But at some point, when the roll is called up yonder, I won't be able to say, hey, I voted to make this a criminal activity,” he said during the meeting. “I can’t do it. I’m a ‘no’ vote.”
Hudson, who sponsored the measures in September with now-former Council member Carolina Anzelotti, said they are needed to protect public order.
“Palmer is a compassionate city, but compassion without order leads to chaos,” she said during the meeting. “It is not the local government’s job to be someone’s baby daddy. I will never make a vote to support laziness or enabling. Get a job, pay taxes.”
