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Public commenters sharply criticize "75% act" and urge humane, evidence-based responses to homelessness
Summary
Speakers at the Spokane council meeting criticized a charter amendment campaign dubbed the '75% act' and urged the city to support evidence-based shelters such as Maddie’s Place rather than punitive measures like expanded camping bans.
Several speakers during the July 21 open forum addressed homelessness and a proposed charter amendment known in comments as the “75% act.” Michael Schneider criticized the amendment’s backers and their claims, saying organizers “cloak their sales campaign in a lot of high sounding and public spirited language” and called particular survey claims about out-of-town homelessness “simply false.” He also criticized a proposed 1,000-foot camping ban, saying the restriction lacks a rational basis and “keeps homeless people away from schools only when those people were camping or sleeping mostly at night when the children weren't there.”
Eugene Knowles urged the council to support organizations that he said get results, praising Maddie’s Place as “top notch” and contrasting it with what he described as lower-quality “scattered shelters.” Several commenters debated whether more punitive or service-based approaches would reduce homelessness; no formal council action on the subject was recorded during the meeting.
