Homeless advocates sue to protect tent city
Action responds to council’s rejection of zoning change.
Sage Lewis and his AKRON — nonprofit Homeless Charity, which runs a tent encampment for the homeless, sued the city Tuesday in a bid to allow the homeless to stay on the property.
Working with the Institute for Justice, Lewis and his nonprofit filed the suit in the Summit County Court of Common Pleas, citing property rights, due-process rights and the right to seek and obtain safety.
A news conference announcing the suit was presented at the property.
The suit is a response to Akron City Council’s rejection of legislation in September that would have granted a zoning change making the encampment at 15 Broad St. a legal campground.
Instead, the city approved a measure that would help relocate the approximately 45 people living on the grounds to permanent housing with the help of several Summit County organizations.
The encampment started with a couple tents in late 2016, when Summit Metro Parks moved about 50 homeless people living at separate campsites out of the path of the Freedom Trail.
The trail runs under the Y-Bridge and along the railroad tracks outside downtown Akron.
Lewis allowed the people to set up their tents in the back yard of his commercial property, and the encampment, then known as the Second Chance Village, slowly grew.
According to the Institute for Justice, providing shelter for needy members of society is a legitimate use of private property and the city of Akron hasn’t provided a good reason why it would impede that effort at 15 Broad St.
The group also says the city would do harm to the homeless by putting them back on the streets and that the homeless have the right to stay on private property as long as they have the property owner’s permission.