Documents recently obtained by the Amarillo Pioneer show an ordinance that was used against protesters at City Hall is rarely cited and was not cited over the entire calendar year in 2017.
Last week, the Amarillo Pioneer learned Ordinance 7596, which prohibits camping on public property in Amarillo, was never cited during the 2017 calendar year and has been cited three times in 2018. Of those three citations, two were given to Kip Billups and another was given to Virginia Trice. Both Billups and Trice were given citations for allegedly violating the public camping ordinance while protesting the City of Amarillo's treatment of homeless individuals earlier this year. As part of the protest, Billups and others spent nights in front of City Hall.
Both protesters have been key figures in the discussion over the City's treatment of the homeless for some time. Trice was a member of the City of Amarillo's Continuum of Care Advisory Ad Hoc Sub Committee and Billups is the founder of Amarillo Brown Bag Runs and former vice president of the Christ Church Camp of New Beginnings. Notably, Billups was arrested after clapping during a City Council meeting in April. In that case, Billups was charged with "Disrupting a Meeting."
Even before its passage, Ordinance 7596 has been a controversial topic in Amarillo. Passed in 2016, Ordinance 7596 amended existing Ordinance 7333 to change the wording on certain provisions of the ordinance. Councilmembers approved the ordinance unanimously in 2016, and opponents said the changes would have a negative impact on Amarillo's homeless, unfairly burdening those subject to the regulations included in the new legislation.
During the meeting, which included the ordinance's passage in 2016, then-Mayor Paul Harpole said while the ordinance was being passed, it would not change the then-City Council's committment to dealing with homeless issues in Amarillo.
"We understand the legal reasons for this ordinance...but this in no way ends the discussion about what we can do as a city, as a Council, or as a community to help and aid with the homeless concerns here," Harpole said.
According to the Amarillo Municipal Code, the laws currently prohibiting camping on public property in Amarillo, which includes Ordinance 7596, prohibits individuals from "stay[ing] in, on or at a Municipal Facility or upon Public Property between the hours of 12 midnight and 5:00 a.m., unless permission has been given by the entity that owns or controls such facility or property." Ordinance 7596 also specifically states "no required or minimum equipment or supplies" is necessary to constitute the act of camping.
Ordinance 7596 jumped back into the news cycle earlier this year when the City of Amarillo attempted to force the closure of the Christ Church Camp of New Beginnings. Amarillo resident Rusty Donelson filed a lawsuit in federal court against the City of Amarillo this spring, following the City's interactions with the Christ Church Camp on the legality of persons "camping" on private property.
Canyon City Commissioners also attempted to pass an ordinance this summer, which Canyon city manager Randy Criswell said was "modeled" off of Amarillo's controversial ordinance. Canyon Commissioners ended up tabling that ordinance after a lengthy discussion about its legality.
As of right now, there is an ongoing push to have the ordinance repealed. Responsible Amarillo is currently running a petition drive to put a repeal of the ordinance on a future municipal ballot, possibly as early as May of 2019.
In an interview with the Amarillo Pioneer, retired attorney and Responsible Amarillo committeeman Michael Green said the City of Amarillo's enforcement of the ordinance shows another reason why residents should sign the petition to have Ordinance 7596 repealed.
"This is a cruel and unconstitutional ordinance that has been selectively enforced and used as an intimidation tactic," Green said. "It needs to be repealed."
According to the City of Amarillo's website, Billups and Trice are headed for a jury trial on September 20th at 1:30pm at the Amarillo Municipal Court to decide the case. Billups is facing two counts of "Camping on Public Property," while Trice is facing one count of the same charge. Both defendants will participate in a jury trial, with both being represented by Ryan Brown of the Blackburn and Brown Law Firm.
Brown, in an interview with the Pioneer, called the trial a "free speech case" and said both individuals were cited in retaliation for their protests at City Hall.
"Look, this is another episode in a pattern of behavior by [Mayor Ginger] Nelson's administration, where they try to suppress free speech," Brown said. "This is a retaliation case that's about going after people for their views."
Trice also weighed in on the trial, saying she believes the ordinance has been selectively enforced by the City of Amarillo.
"At one of the January 2016 Ad Hoc Subcommittee meetings addressing Ordinance 7333, an APD officer said their policy was to not to ticket or make an arrest with the anti-camping ordinance," Trice said. "They 'merely' use it as a 'tool' to force people to move along and it also allows them to do searches and seizures so they can arrest for other crimes...he said they only ticket/arrest for the anti-camping ordinance if the person refuses to leave and they don't find something else to ticket/arrest when doing their search. The officer who ticketed me did not ask me to leave; he asked if I knew about the ordinance, and I said yes, that is why I am here, and then he wrote the ticket."
In August, Billups released a statement to the Pioneer, saying he will not pay the required fine, if found guilty in the camping ordinance case, and will instead face jail time.
"I will not pay a fine. My invisible friends would not be able to pay a fine," Billups said. "Neither will I do community service. I was doing community service when I was ticketed. If we lose the case I will be in Potter County jail on my 50th birthday. If we win I'll be at Moondoggy's eating a calzone."
