Spokane City Council Passes Historic Camping and Obstruction Ordinance

Spokane City Council Passes Historic Camping and Obstruction Ordinance

Lisa Gardner, City Council Communications Director, [email protected]

Tuesday, October 28, 2025 at 10:11 a.m.

During Monday's Legislative Session, the Spokane City Council unanimously voted on the highly anticipated "Safe and Accessible Spaces" ordinance. In an effort to expedite the vote, the ordinance was introduced at Council's Public Safety and Community Health Committee Meeting earlier today, and the rules were suspended during their agenda review meeting to add the ordinance to tonight's agenda. It is the first time in recent memory that all seven City Council members have formally sponsored an ordinance.

"The unanimous sponsorship of this ordinance by all seven City Council members is a testament to our commitment to working together for the betterment of our community," said Council President Betsy Wilkerson. "This historic bipartisan support demonstrates that we can transcend differences and prioritize the needs of our entire community."

This new legislation authorizes Spokane Police Department (SPD) officers to offer assistance to willing individuals, issue citations to rule-breakers, or do both. The current law is viewed as unclear, and leaves open the question of whether an individual could be cited for breaking the law before accepting services. The ordinance expands the scope of obstruction to include any portion of public property where the violation occurs and explicitly adds bridges, stairways, medians, and plazas. A separate provision also covers transit facilities. The ordinance enhances penalties for some violations and removes a provision that required persons cited for unlawful burning to be cited and released. The ordinance imposes stiffer penalties for repeat offenders and aims to address camping and obstruction on all public property, including rights-of-way and entry points to private properties.

Besides preventing unauthorized camping, the ordinance provides SPD officers with more tools to boost community safety. These include protecting waterways and publicly owned trees, preventing illegal fires, and managing harmful litter.

Since the ordinance passed with more than five votes as an emergency ordinance, it will go into effect immediately.

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