Bellingham cracks down on people blocking sidewalks under ‘sitting and lying’ ordinance

BELLINGHAM — Bellingham Police are cracking down on violations of the city’s “sitting and lying” ordinance to keep people from blocking the sidewalks downtown.

It’s part of a new foot patrol focused on the central business district, police Lt. Claudia Murphy said.

“They will be walking in the downtown core, handling calls, talking to business owners and handling calls which come up in the immediate area. This will include sitting and lying as well as watching for folks trespassing, doing graffiti, committing thefts and using drugs in public,” Murphy told The Bellingham Herald in an email.

Patrols will be twice a week on different days, Murphy said.

It was part of a special foot patrol with two officers from 7 a.m. to noon Friday, according to the police activity log.

It wasn’t clear whether the effort, which started Friday, was part of the new “emphasis patrols” announced by Mayor Seth Fleetwood on June 5. Police didn’t immediately respond to additional questions about the focused enforcement.

On Friday, the Police Department’s online activity log noted seven instances where police told people that they were violating the Bellingham Municipal Code section that prohibits blocking sidewalks downtown, in Fairhaven, and near homeless shelters.

At least one person was arrested under the ordinance, according to the activity log, but a corresponding booking wasn’t listed at the Whatcom County Jail.