AUSTIN, Texas — Changes could soon be coming to the controversial ordinances in Austin that affect those living on the streets.
- Special-called meeting is at 1 p.m. on Wednesday
- Controversial camping ordinance was passed in June
- City officials still working toward ending homelessness in Austin
Council members are holding a special-called meeting Wednesday afternoon to listen to speakers and discuss changing the camping and lying ordinances.
Some council members are now proposing to implement a “phased approach” to enforcement, with a goal of illustrating their shared priority of providing shelter and housing to those living on the streets.
In June, City Council sought to decriminalize homelessness by scaling back on penalties for camping and lying, which prompted harsh criticism.
Calls to put the original bans back into place have intensified all summer. But as council members have been defending their decision, they have also been working alongside staff to develop clarifications to the rules.
After putting forth different proposals that discuss potential restrictions, Mayor Steve Adler, Council Members Greg Casar, Kathie Tovo, and Ann Kitchen brought forth Tuesday a revised ordinance that would phase in restrictions based on a particular category.
Read the ordinance for the phased approach here.
“We recognize that some areas that are not the safest for people to camp in are also are the places where our neighbors experiencing homelessness have chosen to be. Considering this, we propose, except where there is an imminent or serious public health or safety threat, or an unreasonable impeding of public space, a phased-in approach that provides housing and services to individuals first, before enforcing prohibitions,” said the council members in a statement on the city council message board.
Rules under “category one,” which addresses litter, sanitation, and storage, would be immediately enforceable.
Council members would still have to decide how wide of a clear zone they want to implement on sidewalks. Where restrictions under this category are, could be predicated on this provision. Another option is for council to set limitations on certain streets like Guadalupe Street and 24th Street in the West Campus neighborhood and Congress Avenue and 2nd, 5th, and 6th streets in downtown Austin.
Rules under “category two,” which would actually dictate where people can camp, would be enforced after housing and support services are offered to people, and if appropriate signage is posted. This category includes restrictions to camping in floodplains, medians, traffic islands and sloped areas under the highways.
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Regions up for discussion in this category are areas near homeless shelters. Council members will have to determine the distance of restrictions around the ARCH and Salvation Army, and the proposed South Austin Housing Center. There seems to be more disagreement in regards to the latter facility.
“It’s a really positive development that we recognize in our ordinance that people need housing and services, first and foremost, because even with our clarifications to the ordinance, we can’t truly succeed until we house people,” said Casar in a post on the message board.
There is also “category third” in this revised ordinance, however, it would not go into effect until after the city has achieved its goal of ending homelessness in Austin. Under this phase, camping would be banned almost entirely on sidewalks, busy streets and roads, and areas with high fire risk.