Denver Mayor Mike Johnston on Friday vetoed an ordinance approved by the City Council that would have banned homeless encampment sweeps during frigid temperatures, arguing it contravenes the city’s camping ban.
Already, the councilmembers who sponsored the ordinance intend to bring it back before the council on Feb. 12, a move that signaled their attention to override the mayor’s veto.
In Johnston’s first veto since taking office in July, the mayor’s office said the proposal “would make it more difficult for the city to help people experiencing homelessness get inside during cold, unsafe conditions.”
“Though well-intentioned, this legislation would restrict the city’s ability to do this life-saving work for approximately four months of the year,” Johnston told the council in his veto letter .
A narrowly-divided council on Monday approved the ordinance to ban homeless encampment sweeps when temperatures fall below 32 degrees.
The council would need nine votes to override the mayor’s veto, which seems unlikely, given that six of the 13 councilmembers voted against the proposal.