September 17, 2020
The Lawrence City Commission held a special meeting on Thursday, Sept. 17, to address community concerns about safety and the enforcement of recent Public Health Orders from Lawrence-Douglas County Public Health.
At the special meeting, after adding an amendment to, “sunset and expire automatically at 11:59 p.m. on December 31, 2021,” the Commission passed City Ordinance No. 9811 (Agenda Item Report), which is scheduled to go into effect on Saturday, Sept. 19. The ordinance makes it a municipal offense to maintain or permit a public nuisance. Maintaining a public nuisance is defined as, “knowingly causing or permitting a condition to exist which injures or endangers the public health, safety or welfare.” Permitting a public nuisance is defined as, “knowingly permitting property under the control of the offender to be used to maintain a public nuisance.”
The Lawrence Police Department has the authority to enforce this ordinance and issue citations. Commissioners also authorized the City Manager to execute a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the University of Kansas and other appropriate parties for the enforcement of this ordinance as well as applicable state laws.
In addition to the City Ordinance, if citizens throughout Douglas County are not following the rules and practices outlined in the local public health order, they risk a violation of Kansas Statute 21-6204 for maintaining a public nuisance or permitting a condition to exist which endangers the public health. This class C misdemeanor would be prosecuted in Douglas County District Court and is punishable by up to one month in jail and a fine of up to $500.
Cases in violation of a municipal offense will be prosecuted in municipal court.
“Most people are complying with public health orders, and we are grateful for those efforts to keep our community safe, especially those most vulnerable to coronavirus,” said City Manager Craig Owens. “It is unfortunate that this kind of enforcement action is required for some people to do the right thing, but the activities of the past few weeks have shown that we cannot rely solely on compliance. Our law enforcement agencies and our partners at KU are prepared to take the necessary actions in order to protect the public health.”
Enforcement will be focused on the emergency order of the local health officer that prohibits mass gatherings of 45 or more people. A mass gathering is defined as an instance in which individuals are in one location and unable to maintain six feet of distance between individuals with only infrequent or incidental moments of closer proximity.
Concerns and/or suspicions of violations of the mass gathering limit can be reported to the Lawrence Police Department at their non-emergency number: (785) 832-7509. The non-emergency dispatch is staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Anyone with questions or a complaint about compliance with a public health order can email phorders@ldchealth.org, where Lawrence-Douglas County Public Health staff will follow up on specific complaints.
The University of Kansas has off-campus jurisdiction with its students when there is an on-campus safety component. Concerns about a person or group not complying with COVID-19 health and safety requirements can be made at unmasked.ku.edu.
When submitting a report, people should include as much information as possible including pictures, video, names, time, date and location.
Contact: Porter Arneill, Director of Communications & Creative Resources – parneill@lawrenceks.org | (785) 832-3402