PARKERSBURG, W.Va. — Parkersburg City Council is expected to vote Tuesday night on an ordinance that would ban camping on public property including city parks.
The ordinance would prohibit sleeping, storing personal property or cooking for habitation purposes on property including streets, sidewalks, parks, parking lots, public rights of way and under bridges.
Violators of the ordinance would be required to pay a fine of $100 to $500.
Parkersburg Mayor Tom Joyce said even though the city doesn’t currently have a lot of people sleeping in public places, he continued to express his support for the ban on Tuesday morning’s MetroNews “Talkline.”
“It hasn’t been a problem for a few years for us, but we certainly don’t want it to become a problem,” Joyce said. “This isn’t the place for homeless to be living or staying.”
The mayor has been candid about the city’s homeless problem in recent years citing the large amount of drug treatment facilities and support services the city offers compared to other municipalities in the state. He said people need to take advantage of those services.
“We have two shelters that provide not only shelter, but hot meal programs, personal hygiene options and wraparound support services for those people who are homeless to address some of the root causes and underlying issues,” he said.
Joyce said the city is currently finishing up a new multi-use trail along the riverfront. He wants to discourage people from setting up camps there in the future.
“We’ve got three new miles of public space and a public park that is designed for bicycling, walking, jogging, etc. It’s not the place for a homeless person,” he said.
Parkersburg City Councilwoman Wendy Tuck previously spoke out against the ban and asked where the homeless should go instead.
Today on #Talkline with @HoppyKercheval
Parkersburg Mayor Tom Joyce on the city council’s consideration of an ordinance aimed at the homelessness issue.
Watch the full interview here – https://t.co/yCFQ3nDJuy pic.twitter.com/e9L72X1Rdy
— MetroNews (@WVMetroNews) September 26, 2023
Joyce responded to Tuck’s concerns and recommended the two shelters are available with plenty of beds and said there are two full-time city staff members that work to connect those on the streets with resources.
“We got to do better,” the mayor said. “We’ve got to get away from this 24 hour need which is often time shelter and food and really encourage and maybe compel folks to do what’s necessary, so they are not needing to sleep in a park or sidewalk,” he said.
City Council meets at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday to consider the ordinance.