WA Supreme Court strikes down Spokane camping ban initiative

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

The Washington Supreme Court on Thursday nullified a 2023 Spokane ballot initiative that expanded the city’s camping ban, reversing decisions from trial and appeal courts.

The majority for Jewels Helping Hands and Ben Stuckart v. Brian Hansen, et al., in an opinion written by Justice Gordon McCloud, stated that Proposition 1 was beyond the scope allowed by local initiative power because it “administer[ed] the details” of the city’s existing anti-camping policy rather than create a new law or policy.

“I hope this decision paves the way for less discrimination against our homeless neighbors,” said Julie Garcia, founder and executive director of Jewels Helping Hands, one of the plaintiffs in the case who sought to block the initiative.

The initiative, sponsored by Spokane resident Brian Hansen, prohibits camping within 1,000 feet of schools, parks and day care centers. It was a response to concerns over rising criminal activity near Camp Hope, an encampment that operated for 18 months in the East Central neighborhood and once contained several hundred unhoused residents. The encampment closed in June 2023.

https://www.cascadepbs.org/briefs/2025/04/wa-supreme-court-strikes-down-spokane-camping-ban-initiative