Tumwater City Council OKs ordinance that applies park rules to city properties 

The Tumwater City Council approved an ordinance that applies park rules to all city properties.

The ordinance makes all 24 rules listed under Section 12.32.020 of the Tumwater Municipal Code applicable to city properties.

The rules, among other things, prohibit the picking of flowers and other vegetation, starting fires, vandalism and littering. The city council made the decision at a meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 18.

The once controversial ordinance was approved after a section that concerned some residents was removed. The deleted section would have allowed night-time loitering at city properties for indigent and homeless people.

City Administrator Lisa Parks said the section was included to comply with the Boise v. Martin ruling, which concluded punishing someone for sleeping outdoors when no shelter was available violated the Eighth Amendment's cruel and unusual punishment clause.

The council planned to take up the ordinance for consideration on Nov. 21, 2023, but pulled it out of its agenda as a dozen people spoke before them to oppose the ordinance.

Members of the community were specifically concerned about the now deleted section of the ordinance. 

The ordinance was tabled while the U.S. Supreme Court decided on the Grants Pass v. Johnson case, which challenged the Boise decision. 

The Supreme Court ultimately ruled that enforcing anti-camping ordinances does not constitute cruel and unusual punishment. 

Enforcement strategy 

Council member Joan Cathey inquired how the city therefore plans to handle homeless people on city properties. 

Parks said police officers would  use their discretion to manage each individual situation.

“I don't believe our police officers ever just kick (someone off) the bench and tell them to go home,” she said. 

The rules under the ordinance could also be enforced through exclusionary orders, a new provision introduced to the current version of the ordinance. 

An exclusionary order prohibits violating individuals or groups from entering a city property.  

City Attorney Karen Kirkpatrick said exclusionary orders are not new to the city, but the ordinance lays out the hearing process for individuals who receive such orders. 

The ordinance also downgrades penalties to the listed rules from misdemeanors to civil infractions, but Kirkpatrick noted the city’s primary approach would be to issue exclusionary orders rather than pursue infractions. 

Outside enforcement, Parks added officers will utilize the city’s new mobile response team to assist people experiencing a behavioral health crisis. 

She also discussed other homelessness initiatives, such as a planned assessment next year that would study the city’s need for emergency and transitional housing.