Editor s note: This story was updated at 12:45 p.m. Thursday to include comments from Fort Collins city attorney.
In a split vote, Fort Collins City Council decided against appealing a court ruling related to enforcement of the city s camping ban.
Council voted 4-3 to not appeal the recent ruling, which found that Fort Collins Police Services unconstitutionally ticketed a man for sleeping in his car at a rest stop in 2018. ACLU of Colorado assisted the man, Adam Wiemold, in his appeal of the ticket.
When they emerged, three council members said they supported an appeal: Mayor Wade Troxell and council members Ross Cunniff and Susan Gutowsky. As one motivation for the appeal, Troxell cited a need for clarification on the question of voluntary vs. involuntary homelessness.
On February 4, a Colorado District Court judge ruled that the charges against Adam Wiemold for violating the Fort Collins camping ban must be dismissed, referencing the fact that shelter was unavailable the night when the Fort Collins man was cited.
“It’s great to know that I won’t have to have this on my record based on what I was going through in my life at that time,” says Wiemold. “I’m happy that this case could potentially help other people who are experiencing homelessness.”
In September 2018, Wiemold was sleeping in his car when Fort Collins police cited him for violating the city s camping-ban ordinance. As the case progressed, Wiemold filed a motion to dismiss the citation, noting that he was employed, but putting his pay to credit-card debt instead of housing. After the Fort Collins Municipal Court denied that motion, Wiemold appealed that decision, leading to the February 4 ruling by Judge Julie Kunce Field of Colorado s 8th Judicial District Court.