Overview
- Frey rejected the measure, saying it would encourage encampments to grow and keep people in unsafe conditions linked to fires, trafficking, outbreaks and violent crime.
- The ordinance would have required toilets, handwashing stations, naloxone and fire extinguishers at encampments of 20 or more within 10 days, plus seven days’ notice before closure and free storage of personal property.
- The council passed the ordinance 8–5, and an override would require nine votes, with the decision slated for the new council in January and no special session planned.
- Supporters framed the policy as a humane, public health approach that gives residents time to plan and allows shelters to prepare for closures.
- City officials report progress this year with fewer large encampments, reduced closure costs and 315 people moving from unsheltered homelessness to shelter, and they published a new homelessness response plan online.