EVERETT — Everett City Council members voted Wednesday to extend a contentious law that bans sitting or lying down on public property in certain areas of the city.
A 2023 law that gave the city power to enact buffer zones — areas of the city that prohibit people from sitting or lying down, and ban individuals from giving food, water or supplies without a permit to people sitting or lying down — was set to expire at the end of the year unless the council extended it. Since the law, known as “no sit, no lie,” was approved, the measure has been met with controversy, with some arguing it’s been an effective tool against nuisance crimes while others say the law unfairly targets homeless people.
The city first approved a “no sit, no lie” law in 2021, limited to a 10-block area east of Broadway. It then expanded the law in 2023, allowing the mayor to create new buffer zones in areas that are impacted by a number of “qualifying events,” which can include trespassing, theft, offensive littering, assault, drug-related offenses or public camping, among others.
The 2023 expansion was set to expire at the end of this year unless the council re-approved it. After Wednesday’s vote, the law will be in place until the end of 2027. It also includes a new clause requiring the city to provide annual reports on the buffer zones.
Since the city implemented the “no sit, no lie,” zones in 2023, police have given 156 official warnings and issued 15 criminal charges for buffer zone violations against 11 individuals, Everett staff previously said.
Five of those individuals were charged with a buffer zone violation along with other crimes, city staffer Jennifer Gregerson said Wednesday, meaning six people were charged solely for violating a buffer zone. One person has been convicted of a buffer zone charge, she said, after they pleaded guilty to the crime, among other violations.
The measure’s renewal drew passionate debate for weeks from those in favor of and against it.
At an Oct. 22 council meeting, council member Liz Vogeli said she had received stories that “paint a very different picture than the one being fed to the council and the public.” Vogeli shared testimonials from individuals who they had received tickets after walking for hours, sometimes while looking to access services.
“I want you to know that these laws are not compassionate. I want you to understand that our clean streets come at a cost,” Vogeli said. “… You see the clean sidewalks. You do not see how they get clean.”
On Oct. 22, council member Mary Fosse moved to table the vote on the “no sit, no lie” ordinance as she sought additional information from city staff as to the conditions under which individuals were being cited for buffer zone violations, such as if they were being charged solely with buffer zone violations or with other crimes in addition to the buffer zone. The council voted 4-3 to table the vote until Wednesday’s meeting.
At Wednesday’s meeting, many people, including the owner of APEX Everett and the CEO of the Imagine Children’s Museum, spoke in favor of the ‘no sit, no lie’ law, citing a decrease in complaints and what they saw as a safer environment downtown.
“This law gives officers a way to engage rather than just drive by like so many of us do,” said Mason Rutledge, a former candidate for a city council seat. “‘No sit, no lie’ might be the nudge that moves someone from addiction to awakening, homelessness to home, isolation to investment.”
Alvaro Guillen, the director of local nonprofit Connect Casino Road, acknowledged that the buffer zones do not solve homelessness or mental health crises — problems that need a holistic and robust support system in areas beyond just the city, he said. But in his experience, the buffer zone in south Everett has helped reduce the amount of criminal activity in the area surrounding the nonprofit center, he said.
“Removing the buffer zone would add more stress for many residents in the Casino Road neighborhood,” Guillen said. “With over 5,000 people walking into our community center each year, it’s a big responsibility for us to keep them safe. Since the buffer zone was implemented, we have seen a significant decrease in these incidents, becoming more tranquil and accessible to families and children.”
Some argued the buffer zones amounted to a criminalization of homelessness, and harmed people who were already facing severe challenges.
“Everett is a city of working class families, young professionals, seniors; folks who believe people deserve respect and dignity instead of criminal records for simply not having a home,” said Rich Ryan, a former candidate for Everett mayor.
Wendy Grove, founder of the Everett Recovery Cafe, a nonprofit day center, said that the city and residents should come together to find a more effective solution than buffer zones.
“By allowing buffer zones, we are asking the question, ‘How can we protect ourselves from you?’ The question we should be asking is, ‘How can we come together as a community and help you?” Grove said.
On Wednesday, the council voted 5-2 to approve the ordinance, with council members Vogeli and Paula Rhyne voting against. Fosse, who voted against the 2023 expansion of “no sit, no lie,” voted in favor of renewing it Wednesday, citing the fact that it was an extension of the sunset, not a permanent move, and that it included new reporting requirements. She encouraged residents to provide feedback on the policy to city staff.
Rhyne, in explaining her reasons for voting against the law, said she has deep respect for the city’s social workers and police who do “difficult work every single day with insufficient resources and complex circumstances,” but said she could not support the buffer zone policy without enough shelter space available to house those in need.
“Until we have adequate day and night sheltering options for people experiencing homelessness where they can go instead of sidewalks and carports, I can’t, in good consciousness, support a policy that punishes people for being the collateral damage of a broken system,” Rhyne said.
Maps of the four buffer zones, along with the 2021 “no sit, no lie” zone, are available online at everettwa.gov/bufferzones. After a warning, sitting or lying down on public property in those zones is classified as a misdemeanor, punishable by up to 90 days in jail and possible fines up to $500.
Will Geschke: 425-339-3443; william.geschke@heraldnet.com; X: @willgeschke.
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