The Festus City Council recently passed an ordinance limiting the times people are allowed on municipal property, in response to recent problems caused by a rising homeless population.
Council members voted unanimously last month to adopt the ordinance, which restricts the public from occupying property “owned, leased and/or maintained by the city” between the hours of 11 p.m. and 5 a.m. This property includes city streets, sidewalks and other public property, including parks.
Mayor Sam Richards said that while Festus officials are sympathetic to the plight of the unhoused, they believe business owners, city employees and residents need protection from those who would block entry into businesses or leave behind potentially dangerous materials behind.
“It has become a problem, especially for the businesses along Main Street and other parts of the city,” Richards said. “We have to do something to protect the businesses along Main Street.
“We have workers at the library who come to work and there are homeless people behind the library and in the front. When our park workers come to the parks, they’ll find homeless people have left behind needles and drug paraphernalia. You have to protect your workers and the public.”
He said that Festus Police have been instructed to not only enforce the ordinance, but also to provide information the homeless about crisis shelters and other services.
Richards said the new ordinance has exemptions.
“This has nothing to do with city-sanctioned activities (such as festivals),” he said.
The ordinance applies only to city property, as opposed to other areas, such as county and state roads and federal property, like the Festus Post Office.
City Administrator Greg Camp said the city already had some regulations in place regarding the use of city property, like limiting the use of city parks to certain hours.
Festus is not the first city to adopt an ordinance to address problems related to homelessness, Camp said.
“A lot of cities have taken this step.”
Those caught violating the new ordinance face ticketing, Police Chief Doug Wendel said.
“They can face fines up to $500 and no more than three months in jail,” he said.