During its May 1 meeting, The Franklin Town Council held a public hearing on an ordinance amendment that would make it unlawful to camp on public property.
The ordinance is meant to address issues that have arisen due to people living in tents, under tarps or other temporary structures on public property, particularly along the Greenway.
No one signed up to speak during the public hearing, but during the council discussion, board member Stacy Guffey said while he understands the need for the ordinance, he feels they are not doing anything to address the causes of homelessness. He said there are people who are working but yet cannot afford a place to live and feel they don’t have a way out of their situation.
“It’s a shame we have to come to this point to ban outdoor camping on public property,” he said.
Mayor Jack Horton said it is a matter of public safety due to the needles, drug paraphernalia and trash often found around the homeless camps.
“This is basically a public safety issue,” Horton said. “We don’t want to go on record as being harsh or mean to people who don’t have a place to live.”
Council member David Culpepper echoed that statement, saying, “This is not meant to punish people.”
The council unanimously approved the amendment while also recognizing work needs to be done to address affordable housing and that will require cooperation from many parties, not just the town.
The amendment defines camping as “The use of public owned property for living accommodation purposes such as sleeping, making preparations to sleep, storing personal belongings, or placing any tent or a temporary shelter on the property for living accommodation purposes.”
The ordinance will apply to local, state or federally owned property within the town limits and the extraterritorial jurisdiction.