(Credit: City of Austin)
The Austin City Council will discuss the issue of camping in public this week, which has been allowed since earlier in the summer when city leaders made changes in an effort to “decriminalize homelessness.” On the city council message board, council member Ann Kitchen has proposed some revisions to the current rules surrounding public camping, and she’s hoping to find support among her colleagues on the dais.
According to that post from Kitchen, her plan would ban camping on sidewalks, high-traffic streets, medians, and other areas that could pose both a public health and a public safety risk.
“On October 17, we will ask the Council to vote on a revised ordinance (Item 29) clarifying that camping will not be allowed in unsafe areas that pose risks to public health and safety. These areas include sidewalks, right-of-way along certain streets with high pedestrian or car traffic, traffic medians and sloped underpasses, and areas around emergency shelters. Camping in culverts, storm drains, creek and river beds, and high fire risk areas also pose health and safety risks. The proposed ordinance revisions also clarify obstruction standards related to areas around sidewalks, business entrances and exits, special use zones, and shelters,” she says.
Similarly, council member Kathie Tovo has put forth a housing resolution which will send City Manager Spencer Cronk on a mission to craft a plan to offer rapid housing services for those living on the street.
“We hope that Council will take action on the proposed ordinance revisions (as well as CM Tovo’s resolution critically important for housing) as we all continue with our commitment to ending homelessness in Austin and to making it unnecessary for anyone in this community to camp in public spaces. We believe it is time for the Council to take action, help the community move forward past divisiveness, and refocus discussion back on solutions for our shared goals of housing,” Kitchen says.
Despite widespread backlash and growing condemnation of the city council’s handling of the homeless crisis, council members have made it clear that there is no plan to fully reverse its decision, despite Governor Greg Abbott’s demand to do just that. Chief of Police Brian Manley also recently asked the council to reconsider its decision, requesting that the old ordinances be put back into place until a more tangible solution is found.
