Some Columbia Business Owners Ask for Urban Camping Ordinance

Some Downtown Columbia business owners have requested that city leaders adopt an urban camping ordinance, preventing homeless people from sleeping in the streets. Those business owners have said that there has been an increase in the number of homeless people sleeping in doorways and on sidewalks.

Downtown Community Improvement District Director Nickie Davis has said that Columbia’s proposed ordinance was not meant to criminalize homelessness.

Davis also said that urban campers who blocked parts of sidewalks could be violating the Americans with Disabilities Act if they aren’t leaving enough room for multiple wheelchairs to get past.

Columbia’s sister city, Columbia, South Carolina, already has an ordinance on this issue. Davis said the ordinance would require jail time if someone got three citations.

The city council will take up the issue during their next meeting on Monday, July 20.