Suit filed over camping ban

Back in late May of this year, when the city council met and the proposed ordinance outlawing camping in public places in Boulder City was on the agenda, a small group of citizens showed up to decry the move in public comment.

One of those citizens, Susan Reams, has upped the ante and filed a lawsuit in federal court alleging the law, which began being enforced in June, violates her rights under the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution.

Reams is suing the city and City Manager Ned Thomas personally and asking for an injunction to stop enforcement of the law as well as a mandated town hall meeting with residents to discuss solutions to the issue of homeless individuals camping in public places. She is also seeking compensatory and punitive financial damages for emotional distress and attorney fees if an attorney is appointed or retained.

At this time, according to Reams, she plans to argue the case herself despite having no legal background or experience in federal court.

“The ban criminalizes existence,” Reams stated in a document attached to the lawsuit. “It penalizes people not for what they’ve done, but for the mere fact that they have nowhere else to go. In a city that lacks sufficient shelter beds, mental health support, affordable housing, and accessible services, this policy does nothing to alleviate homelessness — it only hides it. And hiding suffering does not make it disappear; it only deepens the wound.”

While Reams claims that the ban “violates basic principles of human dignity,” the issue is more personal for her.

“I am unhoused, that is why this is so important to me,” she said in response to an emailed question about her current housing status. “I’m currently on waiting lists for assistance and Boulder City Council doesn’t realize that there are no resources.” Reams also claimed she had been turned away when seeking help at Boulder City Emergency Aid.

In her suit, as well as in her previous public comments, Reams cites the case of Martin v. Boise under which the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that municipalities cannot punish people for sleeping outside on public property when no shelter is available.

“Boulder City falls within the jurisdiction of this ruling, and the enforcement of this ban may expose the city to legal liability,” she claimed.

However, the United States Supreme Court overturned the Boise decision as well as a similar ruling involving the city of Grants Pass in Oregon more than a year ago. Following that action, jurisdictions across the region began enacting bans similar to the one passed in Boulder City.

While noting that the city has not been served with a suit, a city spokesperson said in an email that, “It is important to note that in adopting the no-camping ban ordinance, modeled off of similar ordinances in Clark County, Las Vegas, Reno, Sparks and Henderson, the city council gave careful consideration to the needs of the unhoused population, the safety and health of all residents, and the long-term well-being of our public spaces.”

While the 2018 Ninth Circuit ruling that resulted in a more than decade-long impediment to cities enforcing bans on homeless encampments was rooted in the Eighth Amendment’s ban on cruel and unusual punishment and was argued by the American Civil Liberties Union. Reams says she is taking a different tack.

“I plan on emphasis on the 14th Amendment,” she said. “I will claim that the No Camping Ban is facially discriminatory and fundamentally unjust. The No Camping Ban punishes poverty instead of addressing it and turns survival into a crime for those with nowhere else to go.”

According to the suit, Reams is also alleging that her rights under the First Amendment were violated because city officials, with Thomas named specifically, exhibited “deliberate indifference” to written requests and proposals as well as no one from the city attending an event she organized in June called the “Fathers Day Kindness Walk”. According to the suit, Thomas told Reams that there are no current plans to revisit the camping issue.

The issue of homelessness in Boulder City has long been of concern to local residents. The city has no resources for sheltering homeless individuals and, in the same meeting where the ban was passed, Police Chief Tim Shea alleged that homeless people had reported to BCPD officers that they had been told by Las Vegas Metro officers to go to Boulder City if they did not want to deal with being “hassled” by law enforcement. “So that’s happening,” he said to the council.

For the city’s part, they point to steps taken over the past several years to address the growing issue of homelessness.

“The city is committed to compassionately supporting those experiencing homelessness and this ordinance is one part of a broader strategy that includes access to shelter, supportive services, and long-term housing solutions,” a spokesperson said in an emailed statement.

“As an example, Boulder City, over the past two years, has partnered with Boulder City Hospital by providing $100,000 per year (a $400,000 overall commitment) to fund the Community Resource Liaison position. Her efforts have helped those struggling financially remain in their homes. In recent weeks, she was able to connect four unhoused men in Boulder City with their out-of-town relatives, where they were able to reunite and obtain safe shelter and wraparound services. We also appreciate our partnership with Clark County, as they provide shelter for those who accept assistance.”

Reams frames it as a moral issue.

“This ban is not a policy,” she said. “It is a failure of compassion. And we can do better.”