Aimed at homelessness, illicit drug use
By Michael Bielawski
The City of Brattleboro will be having the first reading of some new local ordinances tonight aimed “to establish boundaries on acceptable community conduct.” It’s being called the “Acceptable Community Conduct Ordinance” and is the last item under new business for 6:50 Tuesday evening at the Brattleboro Select Board meeting.
Meanwhile, the town has been mentioned both on social media and in statehouse testimony as a problem spot for illicit drug activities and issues with homelessness.
The first draft states that town representatives should have the power, “to issue a municipal ticket and/or notice of trespass and enforce that notice against an individual whose conduct is harmful, dangerous, illegal, or unreasonably disruptive, while recognizing the rights of individuals to engage in constitutionally protected activities on public or Town-owned property at certain times, in certain places, and in certain manners.”
The city has a homeless shelter called Groundworks Collaborative with 34 beds. As of January of this year, VtDigger had reported that they were at capacity each night with about five more on a waitlist. It’s not clear what the shelter’s current situation is.
The draft language calls for an end to “unacceptable conduct” and a “notorious atmosphere”. In all it states, “Further, this section empowers the Town to police properties that have become a public nuisance by exhibiting a notorious atmosphere of criminal and other unacceptable conduct so elevated as to endanger the common public health, safety, or welfare of a specific neighborhood or the Town in general.”
Among the definitions section, it defines “Boundaries on Behavior” to mean “limitations on a person’s conduct such that the conduct is respectful, not intimidating, not threatening, not excessively loud or disturbing and which prohibit the activities described in Section 13-420.”
The 2023 April Police Chief’s Report indicates that there were – in that month – 35 Assaultive Crimes, 40 property crimes, 4 drug-related crimes, 5 death investigations, and 28 mental health-related incidents. That’s the most recent police report available on the town’s website.
On social media, there was a post on X by @DecrimVermont in January of 2024 which indicated that illicit drug activity is present. It states, “Representing the support of the #vt House Ways and Means committee for #overdosepreventioncenters Rep. Kornheiser says how painful it has been to witness the deaths of neighbors she watched grow up in Brattleboro. ‘We can’t go on like this.’ #vtpoli #vtleg”.
Another section of the draft gives examples of what kind of rules will see new enforcement. It states, “For example, the number of prohibited behaviors has expanded to include activities such as possessing drug paraphernalia, smoking or vaping any substance of any kind, interfering with free passage of people on a sidewalk, solicitation for private benefit in certain areas, and leaving personal belongings unattended.”
It states that not all public spaces will be acceptable but they will “now include some areas of sidewalks and public roads” as OK for these actions.
The text also defines what will constitute a “nuisance property”. It states, “The Brattleboro Police Department has been dispatched or caused to respond to the property four (4) or more times within the preceding twelve (12) month period for any incident involving a criminal offense including but not limited to disturbing the peace, trespassing, assault, noise disturbance, disorderly conduct, harassment, citizen dispute, threatening behavior, intoxicated person, and drug-related activity.”
The author is a writer for the Vermont Daily Chronicle