Historic Savannah is in a race to clear tent camps and drug activity from its postcard-perfect squares, as city leaders lean on a mix of crackdowns and outreach. Officials and business groups say sweeps, citations and referrals to services have pushed many visible camps out of the downtown squares, even as traffickers shift tactics along regional drug routes. The goal is to shield a tourism-driven downtown while steering people toward shelter and support instead of just shuffling them along.
In June 2025 the City Council signed off on an urban camping ordinance that makes it unlawful to sleep or store personal property on public streets and requires officers to issue a warning before pursuing legal action, according to the City of Savannah. Council members also directed the city manager to return with an evaluation roughly 90 days after the rules took effect.
Since the law kicked in, officials say enforcement has produced 179 citations and 15 arrests, while outreach partners have logged 135 people into the Homeless Management Information System, with roughly 30 percent entering shelters after contact with authorities, per WTOC. Local agencies also report handing out bus tickets and testing storage and pet programs meant to reduce some of the harms of living on the streets. City leaders say the strategy is to pair enforcement with real exits from homelessness, not simple displacement…