BURIEN, Wash. -- Burien's new law has been stirring up a big stink. Two months ago, the city passed a trespass ordinance to give the city a way to deal with disruptive and unsafe people on public property.
But the city's definition of "disruptive" included "hygiene or scent that is unreasonably offensive."
Patrons of the new building that houses both the library and city hall said the situation there was sometimes sickening.
"When their stench forces me out of the public space, yeah I think they need to be asked to leave," said library patron Melissa Daw. "There are a lot of homeless or seemingly homeless people (who) are sleeping and taking advantage of the public space. Often times they do smell awful. There's 20 of them, but the stench is through the whole library."
Across the street at the Australian Pie Company, the restaurant manager says she sees similar problems, but she always asks someone to leave the restaurant.
Yet outside where they sometimes set up tables, the unsavory smell of people hanging around on public benches can drive customers away.
"There's nothing I can do if they're out there," said manager Jessica Heitmann.
Yet Heitmann agrees with critics that the new law might not be fair to the homeless.
The ACLU fired off a letter Tuesday urging the city to repeal the ordinance, saying it was arbitrary and unconstitutional.
"If a parent brings a baby into the library who has a diaper, and the diaper is smelly, is that unnecessarily offensive body odor or is that something we just shrug and say that's a baby?" asks Jennifer Shaw, ACLU deputy director.
Councilmember Lauren Berkowitz says she was the sole no vote on the ordinance and is working to get it repealed.
"I strongly object to this ordinance as unconstitutional, discriminatory, and offensive. Access to government and educational spaces, like the library and city hall, are considered human rights under the UN, as I explained during the council's discussion," said Berkowitz.
Emails sent by KING 5 to the rest of the council were not returned. The council released a statement asserting the ordinance is constitutional. The council says it's open to meeting with the ACLU for a discussion.
In a written statement, the city manager says Burien is committed to striking the right balance between keeping public spaces safe and protecting civil liberties.
