Resident urges Morgantown council to repeal camping ban, points to shelter shortfalls

Nicholas Turner, a resident of Harvard Avenue in the Evansdale neighborhood, used his four-minute public comment slot to urge the City Council to "find their humanity" and repeal or decriminalize Morgantown's camping ban. Turner said services and shelters are being underfunded or shuttered and cited local reporting that "they're on average turning 5 plus people away daily."

Turner said that worsening weather and disappearing support services make enforcement of the ban both ineffective and inhumane. "Since the ban has passed, conditions in Morgantown have continued to decline," Turner said, arguing that funds spent on enforcement "could instead be spent on housing, mental health care, addiction treatment, outreach services, and prevention." He concluded: "Right now, it continues to be bad policy and is bad politics. A society is judged based on how it takes care of its most vulnerable, and to that Morgantown has failed."

The council did not take action in response to Turner’s comments during the meeting; the public comment period closed after all sign-ins were heard. The issue of enforcement and local shelter capacity was raised but not scheduled for further council debate at this meeting.