By DEVIN FLORES
On Monday, April 28, City Council rejected an ordinance which would make it illegal to kneel, sit, or lie down on public walkways in certain parts of the city.
This ordinance was introduced by Councilmember Joe Latino (District 2) earlier this year at the bequest of Chief of Police Chris Noeller. According to City Council, the argument given by Chief Noeller is that this ordinance would be easier to police than the existing loitering law.
Groups such as Transforming Justice have protested against this ordinance, saying that it is obviously intended to target the city’s unhoused population. Some make comparisons to previous actions by the city which, they say, are part of an ongoing campaign to make the city so punishing to unhoused people that they have no choice but to relocate elsewhere. This includes the city’s former practice of inflating jail sentences for the homeless population, for which the city was sued by the ACLU in 2024.
“Ordinances like these are a direct attack on those already struggling, further criminalizing poverty instead of seeking solutions and resources,” said Chela Lujan, member of Transforming Justice.
At the meeting on Monday, some community members turned out to speak against this proposal.
“Homelessness is solved by homes,” said Jimmy Duffner, a community member who spoke against the ordinance. “If we get our brains going here, I really believe we can do this in a very creative way instead of penalizing our constituents that live in the city who can’t afford a place to live. It’s not going to be solved by putting people in jail or giving them tickets. It’s going to be solved by creating a housing model, and it’s going to take a lot of work. I really do think that we can do this as a city if we try.”
“How much stress will this put on our officers to patrol these areas?” asked Elvis Martinez, a candidate for City Council who also spoke against the ordinance during public comment.
“This ordinance is not going to stop violence. Let’s not conflate homelessness with criminal behavior. Pushing the homeless away from areas like Care & Share and the soup Kitchen is not going to help anyone.”
Councilmember Latino pushed against these concerns. “We’ve had vandalism on Union. We’ve had fires on Main street,” he said. “I don’t know if you go downtown after dark, but I do.”
Notably, all of the incidents he listed as justification for this ordinance occurred after business hours, and thus the Sit-Kneel-Lie ordinance (which only is in effect between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m.) would have no bearing on them at all.
Councilmember Flores (At Large) expressed concern over the practicality of this ordinance.
“A police officer would almost have to carry a map in his pocket to see where he has jurisdiction,” said Flores. “It’s so convoluted and confusing. If I was a police officer, I wouldn’t know what to do with this. I believe the police officers have enough to do, and I believe that the loitering ordinance should be enough.”
“I don’t feel bad about this, about trying to bring some civility to our business areas,” said Councilmember Maestri (District 1). “It’s about both health and safety to our community. There’s no trade here. Just because you’re homeless doesn’t mean everybody else’s life has to be affected.”
This new ordinance carves out five areas around the city as “business areas” in which it would/will be illegal to sit, kneel, or lie down on the sidewalk. These areas as defined in the ordinance primarily center around higher density commercial areas, such as downtown, the Highway 50 corridor, and the Sunset Plaza on the Southside. However, it also includes a two-mile-long, one block wide, strip across residential neighborhoods in Bessemer, seemingly for no explicable reason.
The ordinance also includes language clearly intended by the city to prevent lawsuits. It carves out exceptions to the law for people experiencing a medical emergency, children in strollers, and those using crutches and wheelchairs. However, it does not say anything about children not using strollers, or whether or not one has a medical need to use crutches or a wheelchair. Hypothetically, a toddler who falls over would be in violation of the ordinance and could be served with a ticket, while a seventeen-year-old crammed into a stroller or wielding unnecessary crutches would be not be fined.
After extensive discussion and debate, this ordinance failed 5 to 2. However, the city council requested the city attorney to work with Councilmember Latino to bring to the table a possible amendment to the city’s loitering ordinance to accomplish a similar goal.
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Devin Flores is an independent writer from Pueblo, Colo. He specializes in local Colorado culture, history and politics.
