Clarksburg becomes second WV city to approve camping ban targeting the homeless since court ruling

Clarksburg City Council on Thursday passed an ordinance prohibiting homeless people from sleeping on public property. (City of Clarksburg YouTube)

The city of Clarksburg has approved an ordinance prohibiting homeless people from sleeping on its streets. Clarksburg City Council voted 4-2 to approve the camping ban Thursday.

It’s at least the second municipality in West Virginia to pass such an ordinance since the Supreme Court ruled this summer that a similar ban in Grants Pass, Oregon does not violate the constitution’s prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment. Morgantown passed a camping ban in September. 

Officials in a third West Virginia city, Bluefield, are expected to vote on a camping ban proposal next week.  

At least 23 U.S. towns and cities considered or passed such a ban in the two months after the high court’s ruling, one analysis found. 

Clarksburg’s camping ban prohibits camping on streets, parks or trails, public property and private property without permission. It also prohibits storage of personal property in public areas. Penalties for violating the ordinance are fines of up to $500 for a third offense, but do not include jail time.

The American Civil Liberties Union of West Virginia previously wrote to Clarksburg that its camping ban likely violates residents’ civil rights and liberties. During Thursday’s meeting, ACLU executive director Eli Baumwell cautioned city council members that the Supreme Court’s ruling was decided on narrow grounds and that camping bans are still “legally suspect.” He was among several people who spoke against the ordinance. 

“If this law passes, we will be examining it, and exploring potential challenges,” Baumwell said. “But I didn’t come up here to threaten litigation. I came up to remind you that while Grants Pass may have suggested that you could, nowhere does it say you should, and you shouldn’t.” 

He said the ordinance attacks one of the Constitution’s most basic freedoms, the right to exist in public spaces. 

Council members voted down an amendment that would have required officials to provide encampments 24 hours notice before enforcing the ordinances. They approved an amendment making the ordinance effective Jan. 1, 2025 instead of upon passage.