The City Council has deferred the vote on a proposed amendment to the city ordinance regarding camping and storage on public property. At the council’s legislative meeting on Wednesday night, the council chose to push the vote back to April 8 in order to study the issue further.
The council has been discussing the proposed amendment since last year. At its meeting on June 11, 2025, the council deferred the initial vote and — to dispel the misperception some had that the ordinance would penalize homelessness — created a stakeholder group that would study the issue and make proposals. At a work session last month, the council received the final report from that group, which was composed of residents and business owners who had previously expressed concerns with the topic.
The group reached consensus and made multiple suggestions, first and foremost that any ordinance should prioritize voluntary compliance over heavy-handed enforcement. To that end, the group recommended detailing the steps which would be taken prior to law enforcement intervention…