Backed by Supreme Court opinion, O’Fallon is poised to ban homeless camps

People who are homeless won’t be able to camp outdoors on public property in O’Fallon if a proposed ordinance takes effect on Sept. 3.

Police Chief Kirk Brueggeman said providing other options for unhoused individuals is the goal of this new law.

“We’re not going to solve the homeless epidemic. Hopefully, this will give us an opportunity to promote other options, and they will be more accepting of social services, and motivated to get off the streets,” Brueggeman said.

“It’s not good for them to be sleeping outside, it’s not healthy for them, and it’s not safe. It’s not good for the community to have people on public right of ways.”

While the population of homeless people fluctuates, he estimates that the city has about 5 to 8 at any given time.

“Being homeless is not a crime. We’re not out to harass or intimidate homeless individuals,” he said. “We have a great community. People are very giving, very nice.”

Brueggeman said O’Fallon’s proximity to an interstate and the location of hospitals means that people may stop here.

“Sometimes, people are just left at the hospital and have nowhere to go,” he said.

The O’Fallon City Council advanced an ordinance for approval at the next meeting, which will take place Tuesday after Labor Day. The proposal is based on an Illinois Municipal League model which allows municipalities the authority to create ordinances that would prohibit outdoor camping in public places/public right of ways.

Brueggeman said that the O’Fallon Police Department had been operating under the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling of Martin v. Boise, based on the eighth amendment’s prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment. But, in June, the U.S. Supreme Court issued an opinion upholding laws regulating camping in public right of ways, specifically as it relates to homeless people, in the matter of the city of Grants Pass, Oregon v. Johnson.

The Illinois Municipal League’s model ordinance was reviewed, approved, and recommended by City Attorney Todd Fleming and Brueggeman.

Brueggeman said OPD is currently working on obtaining bus passes, and using other resources coordinated by the department’s previous social work intern. It also has a list of resources on a sheet officers can hand out.

During a recent public safety committee meeting, Alderman Jessica Lotz commended officers in their interactions, which she had witnessed.

“Your officers do a phenomenal job, with the limits of what you can do, of being kind, understanding, and helpful in these situations,” she said.

There is no shelter for homeless people in O’Fallon.

The council also approved a resolution creating exemptions to the new ordinance so that Scout groups and others that occasionally hold campouts at Rock Springs Rotary Park can continue to do so.

Those requests will be handled administratively through the department of parks and recreation, said City Administrator Walter Denton.

Parking Lot at Family Sports Park

In other action Aug. 19, the council approved paying Gleeson Asphalt $644,616,78 for construction of a north parking lot at the Family Sports Park. It will provide 100 additional parking spaces off Obernuefemann Road and will allow for future growth in the northeast corner of the park with additional fields and facilities.

Parks Director Andrew Dallner said they hope to have it completed in time for some fall soccer tournaments. This contract schedules the project to be completed by Nov. 22.

He said there is no convenient parking for teams playing on ballfields 9 and 10 and soccer fields 1, 8, 9, and 10 at the Family Sports Park.

He also noted that there have been parking issues in the adjacent neighborhood along Obernuefemann Road during large tournament weekends.

This year’s budget included $600,000 for the Family Sports Park north parking lot project through the Build O’Fallon Trust Fund. Dallner said there are sufficient funds in the Build O’Fallon Trust Fund to cover the cost increase.