York County may consider new hotel rules aimed at homelessness, crime
After Rock Hill proposed controversial new rules in January to keep people from living in hotels, York County is considering moving in the same direction.
Officials in both areas say rules are needed to prevent crime, but they’d also impact the homeless population that relies on hotels or camp sites for shelter.
York County Sheriff Tony Breeden met with the county justice and public safety subcommittee on Wednesday to request several rule changes. They’re related to extended stays in hotels, encampments and buildings that generate repeated calls for emergency services.
“The hotel one is going to be a really big start,” Breeden said.
Specifics on the rules and timelines weren’t given. Breeden asked the committee for help addressing what he says are public safety concerns.
York County Council would have to approve any new rules the sheriff’s office or county staff propose. Three of seven council members sit on the justice and public safety subcommittee.
“What the county’s trying to help the sheriff’s department do is lessen the amount of time they’re dealing with individuals in the county that are breaking our laws,” said Councilman and subcommittee member Watts Huckabee.
Rock Hill hotel rules and their impact on homelessness
Wednesday’s discussion follows a similar one started this year in Rock Hill.
The city proposed a 30-day cap for a person staying in any city hotel within a year, limits on hotel construction where rooms face the outside of the building and a rule that wouldn’t allow York County residents to rent out rooms. Rules were intended to crack down on crime, according to the city.
Hotel owners, public agency workers and people who live in Rock Hill hotels turned out at public meetings opposing the new rules. They argued limits on hotels would hurt their business and worsen homelessness.
The Rock Hill rules, like the discussion in York County on Wednesday, also involved encampments. Public safety and littering were concerns from long-term camping on sites people don’t own, according to the city.
Rock Hill City Council approved the first vote needed to change its rules on hotel stays, but opted to get more community feedback before making a final decision.
Sheriff looks for new rule to address ‘crime havens’
Breeden asked the subcommittee to consider rules aimed at homes that generate repeated calls for emergency service. Those include major crimes or public safety problems that reach beyond the call address.
“We’re talking about the rare house that it is a complete danger to everybody there,” Breeden said.
He isn’t sure if a new rule would involve liens or seizure. And he doesn’t know if homes would be bulldozed. He asked the subcommittee about the “ability to actually either acquire, destroy or whatever” nuisance properties. Warnings would be given before any of those measures begin, Breeden said.
“We’re also not trying to just overstep and be the police state,” he said. “We’re only talking about places that are driving crime in an area.”
Current rules that would lead to a home being condemned or taken relate to it being uninhabitable.
“Some of these houses that we’re talking about, that are crime havens, aren’t going to rise to this level,” Breeden said. “And there’s nothing we can do with that.”
Breeden mentioned a Rock Hill rental home where there have been multiple homicides and drug overdoses, he said. Other abandoned homes were mentioned in the Fort Mill and York areas by subcommittee members.
Rentals owned by people who live far outside the area are concerns, the sheriff said, but so are local homes that have been passed down for several generations. Those homes are paid for and there is little recourse for the sheriff’s office.
Only homes with the most dangerous, and most repeated needs for service, would be considered, Breeden said.
“This is crime-driven,” he said, “and quality of life for the people that surround it.”
Public and long-term camping in York County
Like in Rock Hill, Breeden has concerns about homeless encampments in York County.
He mentioned one discovered a while back near the Galleria Mall in Rock Hill where people were living on a two-story wooden pallet structure. Huckabee referred to a local car dealership that had to deal with people camping on its property.
Safety for the people camping is a concern, as are trespassing and litter rules, Breeden said.
There could be environmental issues if people camp long-term near a water source. Sometimes people camp on properties without the owner’s knowledge or permission. Often, Breeden said, they’ll ask first and the owner will give permission.
“A lot of people want to try and do the right thing,” Breeden said. “Most people want to be good people, be good to each other.”
But problems can arise, he said, when six months of trash pile up and citations go to the property owner.
As with the other rules, it will take some time to write out what people would and wouldn’t be allowed to do. Breeden doesn’t want to take calls from neighbors when a homeowners wants to camp with children in the backyard.
