CHARLOTTE, N.C. — City leaders voted 7 to 3 to recriminalize several city ordinances during Monday night's city council meeting despite intense pushback from nonprofit organizations and the community.
A total of six city laws regarding sleeping on benches, public defecation, panhandling, public drinking, public masturbation, and trespassing on a motor vehicle will be arrestable offenses starting March 1. Right now, they are only punishable by civil citation.
The behaviors have always been illegal, but they were decriminalized in 2021 due to a change in state law, which made all city and town ordinances non-criminal. However, municipalities could reinstate chargeable offenses if leaders voted to do so.
Many people who spoke at the city council meeting said it is immoral and unethical to arrest people for relieving themselves outside or sleeping outside when the city isn’t providing adequate alternatives.
“If we had more public bathrooms this would not be on the agenda tonight,” one speaker said.
The passionate debate on criminalizing the ordinances lasted for hours. Many people worry the changes will unfairly impact people who are homeless.
“I used to hold myself overnight because I had nowhere to go,” James Lee shared on the podium. He said he used to be homeless and there weren’t enough public restrooms in Charlotte then or now.
“I did put myself in the situation, okay granted," Lee admitted. "But, still, as a citizen, I should still be respected enough to have a place to go.”
He and many others said criminalizing public defecation and sleeping outside does not address the root issue.
“We lack the infrastructure for public bathrooms," said Doctor Sara Kinny. "We lack the infrastructure for emergency shelter beds.”
Others added that having a criminal record makes it harder to get housing. Therefore, arresting someone who is homeless for these actions will only worsen the overall issue of homelessness.
Several people who live in Uptown spoke in favor of criminalizing the ordinances to address public safety concerns. "What we’re talking about is basic civil behavior," one woman said.
"We moved here because it was safe, clean, and had opportunity," one man added. "But, today, it’s far less safe and far less clean.” While he spoke on the podium, the man showed a photo of what appeared to be human feces next to a bench at Fourth Ward Park.
The city installed two public porta johns in Uptown Monday and is looking to add more by the end of the month as a temporary solution. It's also investing in a mobile shower and bathroom unit that it hopes to deploy in the next couple of months.
Two ordinances that were originally up for recriminalization, “unauthorized persons in parking lots” and “loitering for drug-related activity,” were removed from the vote due to possible legal concerns.
Chief Johnny Jennings with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department shared a statement in favor of the action the council took via X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. Jennings said officers would always try to seek voluntary cooperation first before getting to an arrest, something he said would be treated as a last resort.
Jennings' full statement reads:
"I support Charlotte City Council's vote to re-criminalize six specific city ordinances that will assist CMPD's ability to maintain public safety for our city. The approval equips our officers with an additional tool to enforce these ordinances effectively. We are aware that we cannot arrest our way out of quality-of-life issues that have plagued our community. We will continue first to seek voluntary cooperation through verbal warnings and issuing written citations. Arrests are considered as a last resort. The council's vote represents a significant stride in the right direction for our department to serve our community by helping to deter future violations and address these issues affecting the citizens of Charlotte."