Earlier this summer, Wilmington City Councilman Luke Waddell proposed what’s been called a ‘camping ban,’ an ordinance that would create low-level criminal penalties for sleeping on city property, including surface parking lots (whether in a vehicle or not), as well as a host of other issues already covered by existing ordinances and laws.
The ordinance was a response to public concern over the increasingly visible presence of chronically homeless people in downtown Wilmington, including acute pressure from downtown businesses. Some of those business owners shared their concerns with Waddell through Wilmington Downtown Inc., where he sits on the executive committee, as well as online and at an early August city council meeting.
Waddell previously introduced a similar ordinance last year, but it was tabled as Wilmington — and many other municipalities — waited on the Supreme Court to settle the question of whether it is, essentially, cruel and unusual to move people off of public property without offering them someplace else to go. The court ruled it was not. And, while the court now leans distinctly to the right, liberal and conservative city and town governments around the country have cited the ruling to implement new local laws…