[A] federal judge extended a temporary restraining order Wednesday preventing Burlington from evicting three homeless men from their encampment on city land.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Vermont filed a class-action lawsuit on behalf of the men and other homeless residents, arguing that the city’s policy and practice of removing such camps on its land is unconstitutional.
“By punishing the act of sheltering oneself in public, Burlington’s camping ban effectively punishes the status of homelessness,” the ACLU writes in its lawsuit.
Crawford extended the order Wednesday until he rules on the ACLU’s request for a preliminary injunction, which would block the city from taking action until the case is resolved. Crawford said he expected to rule on the request for an injunction in the next couple of days, according to the ACLU.
In a court filing arguing against the injunction, City Attorney Eileen Blackwood wrote that the men aren’t being told they can’t stay elsewhere on city land. She also said their property would not be destroyed when the camp is cleared.
The ACLU and attorneys working with it on the case say the city’s policies for clearing homeless camps are shifting and creating confusion. In the past, they said, people’s property has been destroyed in connection with evictions.
Last week, when Burlington police and public works employees cleared a different homeless encampment on Sears Lane in the South End, officials said they went to great lengths to preserve any property people said they wished to keep.
The Burlington Free Press reported that at least one resident of that camp said he felt pressured to give up items he would have otherwise kept. That man, Nick Walls, and his partner have relocated to a new camp on a nearby lot, according to the newspaper.
The city evaluates homeless encampments on a case-by-case basis and takes action only when a camp presents a risk, Blackwood writes, adding “there are many other areas in the city where individuals live temporarily without being disturbed by city officials in the absence of concerns such as adverse health, safety, or environmental impacts.”
The three plaintiffs are Brian Croteau, Larry Priest and Richard Pursell. Croteau is a 30-year Burlington resident who has been homeless since August 2016. He was living in his car until February, when it was towed by the city. Unable to afford the fee to retrieve it, he began living in the woods.
All three plaintiffs have lived in the camp for several months, according to their attorneys.
The lawsuit suggests as many as 100 homeless people are living in Burlington’s woods, based on an estimate from Stephen Marshall, a member of the Chittenden County Homeless Alliance, adding that he’s personally interacted with at least 30 people who are currently doing so.
Those residents possibly could join the class-action suit. However, Blackwood cited the estimate as evidence there are other places in the city where the three named plaintiffs could live other than their North Avenue camp.
