Savannah deemed urban camping and the storing of personal property at public spaces illegal at Thursday’s city council meeting — but not before a man was escorted from the meeting for an outburst and the mayor demanded an evaluation after 90 days.
A newly approved ordinance stipulates that anyone using public property for living accommodations and storage of personal effects can be arrested by the Savannah Police Department after a single warning. The ordinance requires no warning for officers to confiscate personal property or to “deem the property to be abandoned.” Any confiscated property will be retained by SPD “in a manner consistent with the handling of other confiscated property.”
Council unanimously passed the ordinance after an hour of back-and-forth discussion, which included public comment, although Mayor Van Johnson II set the condition that the council must review the ordinance’s performance after 90 days. On Sept. 25, in a city council workshop, City Manager Jay Melder will present council with an evaluation of the ordinance’s effects on homelessness, Johnson mandated…