Homeless caught off guard

Dan Hegge said he had a “rude awakening” 6 a.m. Wednesday.

Hegge, who’s homeless, said he was sleeping in front of Spokane City Hall when police officers awoke about a dozen homeless campers and asked them to leave.

Authorities didn’t arrest or cite anyone.

Wednesday was the first day of the controversial transient shelter ordinance, which prohibits the erection of transient shelters on city property.

Mayor Jim West signed the ordinance into law July 12, but homeless campers have protested the decision by camping at City Hall and by gathering signatures for a referendum to repeal the ordinance.

There was initial confusion among campers about when the ordinance would go into effect and when referendum signatures were due.

The ordinance was set to go into effect 30 days after the mayor signed it, which the homeless campers interpreted to mean 30 working days, or Aug. 23.

City attorney Michael Piccolo said in a memorandum Wednesday that the definition of days is calendar days, not business days, meaning the referendum signatures were due Tuesday.

“They didn’t even tell us of the change, that that was the final day,” Hegge said.

“They didn’t notify us.”

The city didn’t receive any signatures by the end of Tuesday, said Terri Pfister, city clerk.

Campers had collected more than 3,000 signatures, said protest leader Dave Bilsland, of the People 4 People organization.

The signatures are still in his organization’s office, he said, but he’s hoping to continue efforts to repeal the ordinance in the future.

“It’s not in my vocabulary to roll over and cave in,” he said.

Bilsland, who didn’t camp in front of City Hall Tuesday night, said he planned to camp there Wednesday night.

Camping in front of City Hall is part of the 24-hour protest of the ordinance, and the city is violating his group’s First Amendment rights to peaceably assemble and protest, he said.

Dick Cottam, police spokesperson, said he doesn’t think the police will start citing or arresting campers immediately.

“I just don’t think right now they’re going to be enforcing the shelter ordinance until the (department’s) policy is distributed and there’s the opportunity to discuss it with the officers who have to enforce it,” Cottam said.

Police Chief Roger Bragdon said earlier that it’s department policy to give campers 24-hour notice before issuing citations or confiscating property.

Judy Maricle, who was in Riverfront Park, said she agrees with the transient shelter ordinance.

“When I come down to the park, and I have grandkids, it makes them nervous,” she said.

“It is a little nerve-wracking.”

She said she wouldn’t mind if one area of the park were designated for the homeless campers, but she would especially like to see more homeless shelters.

“Any area needs to look at providing facilities,” she said.

“I know some are available, but not enough.”

Ordinance violators can be fined up to $1,000, receive a maximum 90 days in jail or both.

But Hegge called the $1,000 fine “ridiculous.”

“If I could go ahead and pay $1,000, I wouldn’t be homeless,” he said.