Here is a recap of the Greenville City Council Meeting on June 9.
Postpone: Banning public camping
Council postponed first reading of an ordinance prohibiting public camping in the city of Greenville. Greenville City Councilmember John DeWorken, who initially presented the ordinance, recommended the item be held until the Council’s August 11 meeting to allow for more public input to be collected.
Under the proposed ordinance, people experiencing homelessness would be prohibited from camping on city-owned and public property, such as parks, sidewalks, streets, public plazas, public parking garages, underneath bridges, etc. The ordinance defines public camping as using the property for “living accommodation purposes,” including sleeping, preparing to sleep, making a fire, cooking food or setting up a tent.
Unsheltered individuals would violate the proposed ordinance for sleeping on public property for more than two hours. This would also include a person lying on a bench or a public seating structure, whether asleep or not. In addition, the proposed ordinance would prohibit people from storing personal belongings unattended on public property for more than two hours…