KALAMAZOO, MI -- People who are homeless feel they are denied sanctuary in Kalamazoo parks for the benefit of more affluent residents.

Monday, the City Commission chose not to adopt unpopular ordinance changes after facing several hours of criticism from activists and homeless residents. Citizens said it would cause homeless people to be pushed from Bronson Park, which offers a highly-visible safe place for them downtown.

"We are human beings, not some piece of trash you can kick aside," said Michael Rizor. "We are tired of being treated like crap by all the rich people (and) all the politicians."

No commissioner made a motion to pass the new ordinances. The proposal died on the floor without a vote.

City Attorney Clyde Robinson's office has been in the process of revising city codes after being mandated to decriminalize ordinances. Penalties for sleeping in the park during certain hours or sitting with belongings would have changed from a misdemeanor to a civil infraction, among other things, but new restrictions were also proposed.

Assistant City Attorney Richard O. Cherry, who said he experienced homelessness while growing up, said there has been a "big misconception" related to the proposed ordinances. The changes were meant to make penalties less severe, not attack homeless people who use Bronson Park.

Penalties for 16 codes would have changed from misdemeanors to civil infractions. Robinson said some of the changes were spurred after police and parks staff expressed increased issues caused by people occupying parks for long periods of time.

Chief Karianne Thomas said more violations of city codes were reported this summer in Bronson Park, but couldn't quantify an amount Monday evening.

Misdemeanor charges can carry up to 90 days in jail and a $500 fine. A civil infraction would result in up to a $200 fine.

Activists and homeless people said parks provide an alternative to shelters that don't welcome everyone. But access to shelters is less important than creating more affordable housing.

Commissioner Shannon Sykes Nehring said she is angry with herself for not pushing a conversation on homelessness sooner. She accused the City Commission of being too cozy to make serious progress, calling the Shared Prosperity Kalamazoo initiative "a joke."

"I'm disappointed at myself because I have not pushed hard enough," she said. "Tonight, I go home next to my husband in a king-sized bed and I tuck my kids in, and that is a travesty."

Two women said rapists prey on homeless women. They expressed fear of being assaulted if they can't occupy Bronson Park.

Thomas said she hadn't heard about a suspect targeting homeless people. She declined to comment on if homeless people are safer in Bronson Park.

There are roughly 4,600 homeless people in Kalamazoo County, according to a 2017 count of the population by Michigan State Housing Development Authority and Michigan Campaign to End Homelessness

This includes 1,710 children and 140 unaccompanied youth. The average age of a homeless child is 8 years old.

Sixty-percent of homeless people are black, according to the 2017 count, while 36 percent are white and 6 percent are Hispanic.

Failed rule changes

People who sleep overnight in the park face a misdemeanor under the current ordinances. The proposed rules would have made sleeping during certain hours a civil infraction, not a crime.

Sleeping in parks is not allowed from 9 p.m. to 7 a.m.

Camping is prohibited, punishable by a misdemeanor. New rules would have made camping a civil infraction and added a more clear definition.

The definition states camping is "bedding, sleeping bags, personal belongings or other materials" for a place to "dwell or sleep" for more than 2 hours in a 12-hour period.

Sleeping or lying down to rest on paved surfaces in parks, including the Rotary Stage in Bronson Park, remains a misdemeanor. This wouldn't have changed under the proposed ordinances.

Another change would have allowed parks and recreation employees to remove a person from a park for violating ordinances. Only public safety officers have this power under the previous city code.

Nowhere to go

Activists and homeless people set up camp on the steps of City Hall Sunday to protest the ordinance changes.

Heather Sadler, 30, said there is no other place for people to go if parks are not open. The ordinance changes would have confined them to live under bridges and in less visible places, she said.

Bronson Park provides a safe place for people while the Kalamazoo Gospel Mission is closed, Sadler said.

But the Kalamazoo Gospel Mission doesn't welcome everyone, citizens said Monday. Some said people are kicked out because of their alcohol use, others became sick after eating the food, and some said they are uncomfortable in a non-secular environment.

Nathan Dannison, leader of First Congregational Church, says LGBTQ people are "not protected" at the mission.

A representative of the mission was not present at Monday's meeting.

Jamie Bowers feared homeless people would have been "forced out into the neighborhoods" surrounding downtown. He was among organizers at Monday's demonstration outside City Hall.

'Bad apples'

The changes were necessary because the public safety and parks and recreation departments reported more littering and "confrontations" between homeless people and residents during weekend concerts, the city attorney said.

Sadler acknowledged that some people cause issues in Bronson Park, but others try to clean up debris and mind their own business. She doesn't want stigma associated with homelessness to define her.

"There is a lot of homeless people that won't clean up their own garbage, they won't be respectful, I understand that," Sadler said. "Don't punish the rest of us for one group of bad apples."

Kalamazoo Township Trustee Jen Strebs says most are homeless for short periods of time as they try to get stabilized. She was homeless while escaping a domestic violence situation years ago.

Thirty percent of homeless people last year identified as a domestic violence victim or survivor.

Robinson said the city needed to specify the definition of camping to address groups of people who bring their belongings and "stake out a spot all day long in the park."

Robinson said the city of Portland, which prohibits any camping on public property, provided a model to define camping. People sleeping in the park interfere with maintenance and grass mowing, he said.

Nathan Erickson, 28, used harsh language to describe his anger with police and institutions of power in Kalamazoo. He said he takes a more radical view than others who protested Monday, a philosophy that came to him after years of disenfranchisement.

He was jailed in 2012 for sleeping in Bronson Park and received a felony after assaulting officers while in custody. Erickson said he matched aggression being directed toward him. Now he can't get a job because of his criminal record.

"We become violent and it solves nothing, but at the same time they do nothing to help us," Erickson said. "(We face) persecution, dehumanization for the simple fact we are homeless. We deserve dignity as people."

Thomas said Bronson Park is in a zone covered by one public safety officer assigned to patrol the city's downtown.

Jessica Decker, 29, came to the United States from England to take care of her mother and later became homeless. She hadn't been in Kalamazoo long when she accidentally fell asleep on a Bronson Park bench.

She was given a misdemeanor but successfully challenged it in court.

Another solution

Bowers said the shelters in Kalamazoo County are a "band-aid" that don't address the root causes of homelessness. What the community really needs are more long-term housing for people dealing with substance abuse and mental health issues.

Bowers, 55, understands that struggle. He is two years sober after a long battle with drug addiction.

"Understand: Those people aren't lazy; they're not no good," Bowers said. "There's mental illness, there's drug abuse and alcoholism and people who don't feel good about themselves ... We need to look past that and see the person."

Bowers is handicapped and became homeless last month after being cut off of his disability benefits. He was helping homeless people out of his own house until he lost everything.

He wants the city to give him a vacant building for a private rehabilitation facility.

Other changes

Another change would have made using a speaker or sound-producing device without earphones a misdemeanor. This includes bullhorns and voice amplifiers used during demonstrations in the park.

Bronson Park in particular has been a popular location for various political protests, social demonstrations, marches and civic activism. Sometimes these events are planned well in advance, but other impromptu demonstrations have also occurred.

Demonstrations in the park don't require a permit if it is free and open to anyone.

Smoking is allowed in parks, but can be prohibited during special events. A new section of code proposed including electronic smoking devices like vape pens, e-cigarettes and other devices that use heat to produce vapors.

Parks could become tobacco-free zones in the future, Robinson said.