By a 34-16 vote, a Jarret Coleman sponsored bill taking aim at unauthorized homeless encampments passed the state senate on June 25. The Lehigh Valley's other two state senators, Lisa Boscola and Nick Miller, also voted for this measure. The bill now advances to the state house.
I have a cousin who lives in LA. When he left the Lehigh Valley, he was a Democrat. Now he's a conservative Republican. One of the things that has really bothered him is the number of homeless encampments on city sidewalks. Things there have become so bad that Governor Gavin Newsom is urging and even threatening cities and counties to ban these tent cities. And in his NYC Mayoral campaign, former Governor Andrew Cuomo pledged to get homeless people out of subways.
The prime sponsor of this bill, Senator Joe Picozzi, framed the issue as one of "public safety, health and welfare for neighborhoods." He observed that these encampments bring " trash accumulation, drug paraphernalia, crime, risks from open flames, and blighted conditions."
Under the bill, an "unauthorized encampment" is an "encampment on public or private property, without the property owner's express consent or authorization, where an ndication of nuisance exists."
It imposes a duty on property owners, including municipalities, to "prevent, mitigate and abate any condition of nuisance on the property." It also creates a private cause of action in "interested persons" (any owner located within 1600' of the tent city) to sue for injunctive relief, including "reasonable expenses."
