Citing downtown rise of homeless people, Morristown council introduces law to ban sleeping on public property

Sleeping on a park bench, or in any public or “quasi-public” place, day or night, will become a crime if the Morristown council adopts a “camping” ordinance introduced unanimously after almost no discussion on Tuesday.

Escalating penalties for violations would range from $100 to $2,000, and up to 30 days of community service or jail time. Using a blanket could be grounds for arrest.

Asserting that homelessness is rising downtown, the ordinance cites last year’s Supreme Court ruling in an Oregon case. The high court found it’s not cruel and unusual punishment to ban camping on public property — even when there is no room in homeless shelters.

That decision sparked immediate crackdowns on tent encampments in California, including San Francisco, and across the country.

Morristown, “in particular its downtown, has been experiencing a significant upsurge in individuals that are camping or sleeping on sidewalks, storefronts, or other public areas thereby creating a nuisance to customers and pedestrians attempting to patronize local businesses and to navigate sidewalks,” states the ordinance.

Specifically, “no person shall be permitted to camp or sleep on any street, highway, sidewalk or streetscape improvement, quasi-public, or public place, at any time.”

Individuals may be prosecuted for “use of tents, tarps or other shelters; sleeping bags, blankets, pillows or other items used for bedding; the placing or storing of personal belongings; the act of cooking or making a fire.”

A “quasi-public” place is defined as “private or publicly owned property utilized for proprietary or business uses.”

The measure, set for a final vote on Feb. 25, 2025, would amend police regulations. Officials in Morristown, which proclaimed itself a “Fair and Welcoming Community” in 2017, characterized the ordinance as necessary and humane.

“We want to make sure that it’s clear what you can and cannot do in Morristown, so the police are able to properly direct those people to the appropriate resources,” said town Administrator Jillian Barrick.

A prominent local pastor later expressed concerns.

“Being poor and destitute should never be considered a criminal act. With few exceptions, I believe most people are in this unfortunate situation because of our society’s lack of compassion,” said the Rev. Sidney Williams Jr. He is pastor of the Bethel AME Church, where the Table of Hope soup kitchen serves hundreds of meals weekly.

Public outrage prompted the Paterson city council to withdraw a similar ordinance last month.

Barrick said it won’t be hard finding temporary shelter for people picked up for violations.

“The county has always been able to find placement for people…they’re always able to provide services,” she said.

Council President Nathan Umbriac, speaking after the meeting, said the ordinance will “empower the police to do their job, and to make sure people aren’t setting up tents and sleeping out in the cold. It’s more of an issue of being concerned for their well being and their health as well…I think we just needed something documented that we could enforce.”

Umbriac said he did know who initiated the ordinance. Saying he “really wasn’t that involved,” Mayor Tim Dougherty referred questions to Barrick. Asked how and why this has come up now, she only would say: “We have had some increased activity, and most of them are our not our ‘regulars,’ if I may say.”

Robert Iannaccone, the lone Independent among council Democrats, was the only one to speak prior to voting. He endorsed the ordinance, asked for a clearer picture of available social services, and praised Morristown police for enforcing these sorts of regulations “with heart.”

Republican council candidate Andrew DeLaney wants a cop assigned to the Morristown Green. He has made “cleaning up” the historic square a campaign theme, contending addicts and others who congregate there urinate in public and make visitors uncomfortable.

Tuesday’s vote came at the end of the session, in front of a sparse audience that raised no objections.

‘EVERYONE DESERVES DIGNITY’

A federally mandated annual survey in 2024 identified 680 individuals experiencing homelessness in Morris County, one of America’s most affluent counties. It was a 32 percent increase over the previous year.

As the county seat, Morristown is a hub for social services. Project Homeless Connect, a yearly event co-sponsored by Morris County, drew dozens of people to town last month to explore services offered by more than 40 agencies.

Homelessness nationwide is outpacing public resources, pressuring elected leaders to make the unsheltered homeless less visible, according to the National Alliance to End Homelessness. But laws that “fine, cite, arrest, and jail” the homeless only sidestep and worsen the problem, the alliance contends.

With a permanent solution of more affordable housing far off, the alliance suggested temporary steps in a December 2024 report, Interim Strategies for Responding to Unsheltered Homelessness.

Such steps might be creation of safe parking sites, tiny homes, and “self-governed supported encampments,” with mobile bathrooms and basic infrastructure to “stabilize in place.”

Area social service providers declined to comment about the Morristown ordinance, but said they stand ready to help the homeless.

“We at Homeless Solutions agree with the county that none of our neighbors should be forced to sleep outside, and that everyone, including those temporarily unhoused, deserves safe shelter,” Jaclyn Stoll, CEO of Homeless Solutions Inc. (HSI), said in a statement.

She encouraged county leaders to strengthen their partnership with HSI to pursue transformational policies, expanded access to affordable housing, and supportive services “that truly help people get back on their feet.

“Everyone deserves dignity, stability, and a fair chance, and we remain committed to working with our local leaders to create sustainable pathways out of homelessness,” Stoll said.

Morristown’s Market Street Mission has been helping people in need since 1889.

“We are just one of many agencies working to address the struggle of homelessness in our community, and it’s our desire that those who need food and shelter would avail themselves of what we have to offer,” the Mission said in a statement.

IN OTHER BUSINESS

Bill Byrne, a member of the disabled community and an advocate for people with disabilities, vowed to start a movement to thwart any Trump Administration cuts to Medicaid. Cuts would be devastating to service agencies and clients who depend on them, Byrne said.

“I’m asking everybody in this community to band together and to call your elected officials” in Trenton and Washington. “This is going to be very dangerous, and it’s going to be a slap in the face to senior citizens, and to people with disabilities,” Byrne said.

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A Pennsylvania lawyer for the new owners of the Metropolitan Lofts apartments implored the council to deny The Homestead bar’s request for 10 outdoor concert events. Attorney Jonathan E. Mayer said two tenants have left and five more units remain vacant because of noise from the bar, which faces the apartments at 11 DeHart St. This has cost the owners $20,000 in lost revenue, he said.

Police Chief Darnell Richardson told the council his bureau has received no noise complaints from Lofts residents since November 2024. A special council hearing is scheduled for next Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2025, at 7 pm. The sale of the Lofts for an undisclosed sum was announced last month

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Trucks and commercial vehicles will be subject to towing if they park in town lots (non-Morristown Parking Authority lots) without the mayor’s approval, per ordinance revisions introduced by the council.

Additionally, nobody will be allowed to park for more than 24 consecutive hours at these lots, which include Madison Street, the Morristown Fire House on Speedwell Avenue, and the Burnham Park Pavilion. The pending measure also reserves Sunday morning use by Calvary Baptist Church of the lot at Martin Luther King Avenue and Bishop Nazery Way, and bans overnight parking there.

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Advertising and public relations companies will be charged for shooting photos and videos on public property — the council chambers, for instance– if another ordinance is adopted. Daily permits will cost $750 for less than eight hours of filming, and $1,000 for longer.

If police deem their coverage is necessary, overtime and police cruiser costs will be added. The same applies if the business administrator determines that public works employees are required.

Movie and TV productions already pay a $500 application fee and $500 for each day of filming in town. Expedited processing — within a month of shooting — doubles both of those fees.

Morristown has become a backdrop for pilot episodes and films, including scenes shot at the Peck School last month for The Housemaid, starring Sydney Sweeney. Mark Wahlberg, Patrick Dempsey and Morgan Freeman also have filmed in town.

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Last but far from least, Damonn Brown decided, after 30 years together, to propose to Candra Pierce. While receiving a Black History Month proclamation, Brown got down on bended knee to pop the question. Read our story here.