Island County is taking action to stop people from camping on the beach alongside the road at Ebey’s Landing. The County Commissioners were informed there has been an explosion of unregulated campers who are leaving garbage, gray water and animal feces behind on the pristine beach.
A local resident told the commissioners that campers would stay for weeks on end and that she didn’t think the community was willing to lose this beach to a “bunch of freeloaders.” She asked the commissioners to put up signs to restrict parking on that section of the road.
Commissioner Melanie Bacon said that the county prosecutor advised her against putting up signs without a change in the county code. Commissioner Jill Johnson commented that the county puts up signs all the time without getting permission from the prosecutor. After a brief discussion, the commissioners unanimously decided to move ahead with temporary signs restricting parking from 10 pm to 5 am even though it won’t be enforceable by Sheriff’s Deputies.
A 2019 decision by the Ninth Circuit of the U.S. Court of Appeals says that enforcing rules prohibiting a person from camping on public property is a violation of the Eight Amendment if a person is homeless and does not have a reasonable alternative for shelter. There is no indication that the people camping at Ebey’s Landing are homeless. For the rest of the story, see Jessie Stensland’s writeup in the Whidbey News-Times.
