Everett City Council passes 'no sit, no lie' law in 5-1 vote
EVERETT— After weeks of passionate discussion, the Everett City Council has approved a law that will criminalize sitting or lying on streets and sidewalks in a 10-block area east of Broadway near downtown.
The council passed the “no-sit, no-lie” ordinance by a 5-1 vote Wednesday night. Enforcement will not begin until alternative housing is available at a “pallet shelter” village approved by the council last month.
The no-sit, no-lie boundary will stretch from 41st Street to Pacific Avenue near I-5, including Everett Station and the Everett Gospel Mission. Dozens of people live on the sidewalks and in alleys adjacent to Smith Avenue, an area business owners and officials said has borne the brunt of Everett’s homelessness crisis.
The ordinance also requires a permit from the city to provide food, goods, supplies or services in the zone.
https://www.heraldnet.com/news/everett-city-council-passes-no-sit-no-lie-law-in-5-1-vote/
City’s no-sit, no-lie ban could be unconstitutional, some say
EVERETT — A national legal advocacy organization on Wednesday urged the City Council to reject a measure, tied to a new shelter project, to outlaw sitting and lying on some city sidewalks, saying the ordinance would violate the constitutional rights of people who are homeless.
The National Homelessness Law Center said the “no-sit, no-lie” rule would go against the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition of “cruel and unusual punishment.”
“The City of Everett should not continue to propose problematic encampment ordinances so that they may further criminalize homelessness,” wrote Eric Tars, legal director of the center. The D.C.-based nonprofit advocates for solutions to end homelessness while preserving civil liberties.
“Instead, the best way to address the problem is by removing the need for people to shelter themselves in public in the first place, by providing adequate housing and services,” Tars said in a letter emailed to the City Council just before noon Wednesday.
https://www.heraldnet.com/news/citys-no-sit-no-lie-ban-could-be-unconstitutional-some-say/