Troy City Council Approves Camping Ordinance

By Josh Jones
Times Tribune Editor
[email protected] 

TROY — The Troy City Council approved an ordinance amending Chapter 131 (Offenses Against Property, Public Health and Safety), Adding Section 131.34 Camping on Public Property of the Codified Ordinances during Monday’s regular meeting at City Hall. 

According to information provided, the City Council of the City of Troy has determined that it is in the best interests of public health, safety and general welfare, and economic welfare to declare public camping as defined herein a nuisance within the City, and to accordingly amend the City Code of Ordinances to add Chapter 131.34, Camping on Public Property. 

Public camping prohibited by the ordinance includes the following 

• No person may sleep, nor otherwise engage in public camping, on a public sidewalk, street, alley, lane, other public right-of-way, park, bench, or any other publicly-owned property, nor on or under any bridge or viaduct, at any time.
• No person may sleep, nor otherwise engage in public camping, in any pedestrian or vehicular entrance to public or private property abutting a public right-of-way.
• No person may sleep, nor otherwise engage in public camping, on any real property owned or otherwise maintained by the City of Troy.
• No person may park a vehicle overnight within the City of Troy for the purpose of sleeping or otherwise engaging in public camping in said vehicle.

For the purposes of this section, the act of parking or leaving a vehicle parked for two consecutive hours, and/or remaining within a vehicle on any property under the jurisdiction of the City of Troy for the purpose of public camping, for two consecutive hours without permission from the City Council, Mayor or Police Chief, between the hours of midnight and 6:00 a.m., shall be considered a violation of this ordinance.

It shall not be a violation to engage in public camping when done in a manner specifically authorized by this code; after a formal declaration of the City in emergency circumstances; or, upon resolution of the City Council, the same may exempt a special event from the prohibitions of this section, if the City Council, Mayor or Police Chief finds such exemption to be in the public interest and consistent with the goals and objectives of the City of Troy, and with such conditions imposed as the City Council deems necessary.

The person causing such action to be taken shall inform an appropriate agency delivering social services to homeless individuals in the City, of the location of the campsite and the persons found to be in violation of this ordinance, so said agency may determine whether or not it would be appropriate to offer its services to those persons. 

The idea for this ordinance was initially brought by Council Member Sam Italiano (Ward II) who explained that this is not only about the safety of the public and maintaining clean parks and right of ways, but also for the safety of those who would set up the camp sites. He said he wanted to be proactive after seeing other municipalities approve similar ordinances. 

“We want to make sure we are taking care of people who need help,” Italiano said. “Although we want to make sure that our properties stay pristine, we also want to help people that need help, that if they will accept the social services our police want to get them to the services they need.”

• The penalty for any person’s first violation of this ordinance within a rolling 24 month period shall be $75.
• The penalty for any person’s second violation of this ordinance within a rolling 24 month period shall be $150.
• The penalty for any person’s third violation of this ordinance within a rolling 24 month period shall be $350.
• The penalty for any person’s fourth violation of this ordinance within a rolling 24 month period shall be $500.
• The penalty for any person’s fifth violation of this ordinance within a rolling 24 month period shall be $750.
• The penalty for any person’s sixth or subsequent violation of this ordinance within a rolling 24 month period may be a monetary penalty of $750 or incarceration for a period not exceeding the maximum time allowed pursuant to Section 1-2-9 of the Illinois Municipal Code (65 ILCS 5/1-2-9).

As a substitute for any monetary penalty assessed pursuant to paragraphs, above, and if consented to by the City of Troy, the penalty assessed to any person found in violation of this ordinance may be that said person must engage in public service by cleaning the rights-of-way and other public facilities of the City for an amount of time that, if the person found to have violated this ordinance was being paid the minimum wage under Illinois law, the amount paid for that person’s labors would have been equal to the monetary penalty assessed under this ordinance.

Troy City Administrator Jay Keeven concurred that the ordinance is about safety and not to punish the homeless population. He said that this problem has not occurred in Troy yet, but several municipalities are adopting similar ordinances. 

“We want to help individuals that need help, but at the same time if they are not accepting help, not accepting a reference to social services that we can provide or that other entities provide, we can’t let them set up tents/camping in our city right of way and our city parks,” Keeven said 

The full ordinance may be viewed at city hall or by visiting the city’s website. 

In Other Business 

• The council passed an ordinance adopting a zoning hearing officer decision, granting EJ Equipment Variance at 1920 Formosa Road. 
• The council approved annual appropriations. 
• The council approved an ordinance amending Title XI: Business Regulations, Chapter 116: Alcoholic Beverages of the Codified Ordinances of the City of Troy. 
• The council approved amending Chapter 111 (Solicitors, Transient Vendors, and Peddlers) of the Codified Ordinances of the City of Troy. 
• The council approved a resolution authorizing a Quit Claim Deed for the Transfer of Real Property. 
• The council approved a resolution authorizing the mayor to execute a Tax Increment Financing Redevelopment Agreement with Larry Luebbers. 
• The council approved a resolution authorizing the mayor to execute a temporary construction easement agreement and a permanent easement agreement with Christopher J. and Elizabeth M. Jacobs. 
• A council approved a resolution authorizing the mayor to execute a temporary construction easement agreement with Brian and Sue Lyn Ropac.
• The council approved a resolution authorizing the execution of a maintenance agreement with CPO Investments, LLC (West Wind Villas).
• The council approved a resolution authorizing the execution of a donation agreement with CPO Investments, LLC (Connor Sanitary Sewer Easement). 
• The council approved a resolution authorizing the execution of a donation agreement with CPO Investments, LLC (Lindow Properties, LLC, Sanitary Sewer Easement)
• The council approved a resolution approving of a final plat for West Wind Villas (18-Lot Two-Family Residential Development). 
• The council approved a resolution authorizing the Mayor to Execute an intergovernmental agreement for contract police services with the Madison County Regional Office of Education No. 41