Jackson’s City Council once again postponed a vote on a storage-and-retrieval ordinance Tuesday night that would disproportionately impact the city’s unhoused population.
The ordinance, which would limit the number of belongings people could leave unattended on public property to what would fit in a 32-gallon container, was originally proposed in response to the unhoused encampment outside Jackson’s Carnegie Library.
However, at a July 22 meeting, council members removed the emergency nature of the ordinance and postponed a vote to make amendments.
These amendments included:
- The removal of monetary citations for violating the measure
- An increased notice period of 4 hours (previously 2 hours) prior to property removal in high-use areas
- Further specification that all property would be stored safely as long as it didn’t pose an immediate threat
- A 30-day extension to the previous 30-day storage period of property upon written request
Despite the changes made, council members once again delayed the vote on the ordinance Tuesday.
“At this point, I’d say there’s nothing in the ordinance that I would support,” Councilor Angelita Gunn said. “I don’t believe it accomplishes anything really, and I think to say that it would be an ordinance that is not targeting the unhoused or people that are homeless is cynical.”
Councilor Will Forgrave agreed the ordinance would disproportionately affect the unhoused community but said there is “no way around that.”
“I think, compared with other communities, we are bending over backwards. We are not throwing things out for 30 days,” Forgrave said. “I think we are going above and beyond with this, to be as pragmatic as possible, and I’m disappointed in everybody, truly everyone up here and out there, who just fell so hard in either one direction.”
Multiple public commenters at the meeting cited a ProPublica investigation that found that, in communities where property was impounded, few unhoused people retrieved it.
One commenter who referenced the investigation was Nick Cook, the director of public policy for the Michigan Coalition Against Homelessness.
“Many people lost identification, medications, tools, family keepsakes and survival gear,” Cook said. “The people affected by this ordinance are not carrying excess belongings; they are carrying identification documents, medications, medical equipment, legal papers, clothing, blankets and other items necessary for survival. Losing those items can make it even harder to obtain housing, employment, healthcare and benefits.”
Another commenter, Lisa Salisbury, demonstrated how few possessions could fit in a 32-gallon container.
“These aren’t 32 gallons of belongings,” Salisbury said. “These are someone’s life, and I believe we can do better than telling them which pieces of it they have to throw away.”
Mayor Daniel Mahoney defended the ordinance, citing his own experience with homelessness.
“We didn’t have belongings to carry around. We had nothing when we were homeless. Nothing to accumulate,” he said. “I have been there before. It still does not negate the public’s right to public accessible places that are shared by us all.”
Discussion of the ordinance is expected to continue at the next Jackson City Council meeting Tuesday, Sept. 8, at 6:30 p.m.