Houston is sharpening its approach to homelessness by expanding the city’s civility ordinance to make it enforceable 24 hours a day in two key districts: Downtown and East Downtown. The City Council, barring council members Tarsha Jackson and Abbie Kamin, voted in favor of the updated ordinance.
The ordinance makes it illegal to sit, lie down or store belongings in public spaces such as sidewalks and parks between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m. It only applies to specially designated zones, which must be requested by residents and approved by the city council.
Mayor John Whitmire’s administration now expands the hours to all day, every day, but for now, only in the Downtown and East Downtown Management Districts.
Mike Nichols, director of the Housing and Community Development Department and Larry Satterwhite, director of Public Safety and Homeland Security (and former Houston Police Department chief) emphasized the move is not about criminalizing homelessness, but rather giving law enforcement and outreach teams a stronger tool to help move people into services and off the streets…