Aurora City Council to vote on law changing how city handles unauthorized encampments
The Aurora City Council is set to vote on a proposal that would change the way the city handles unauthorized encampments.
Currently, if the city wants to clear an unauthorized camp, they must give the people living there seventy-two hours of notice and have a bed at a shelter available for them. City officials discussed plans and concerns over the possible changes during a study session on Jan. 13.
"We wanted our ordinance on camping to align with the latest Supreme Court ruling," said Council Member and Mayor Pro-Tem Steve Sundberg.
He and Council Member Angela Lawson have co-sponsored a proposal to get rid of those provisions based on the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in City of Grants Pass v. Johnson.
In that case, the Supreme Court ruled that local government ordinances with civil and criminal penalties for camping on public land do not constitute cruel and unusual punishment of homeless people.
Sundberg said the current system in Aurora isn't working.
"We want people to accept help, but we are finding in most cases, they refuse," said Sundberg.
Cathy Alderman with the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless said this proposal will harm the most vulnerable in the community.
"We find it very disappointing that Aurora is moving in this direction," said Alderman. "Now they're going to have to get up and move, some maybe as quickly as within 20 minutes of being contacted by the police. Meaning that they're likely going to lose some of their belongings and get disconnected from the community that they may have established in the encampment."
Council member Allison Coombs agreed, saying people illegally camping in the city will pay an extreme price when cited.
"We're subjecting people to the general penalty clause, which is up to 364 days in jail and the maximum fine," said Coombs.
The city is building a brand-new campus to house the unhoused which should provide opportunities, when open, for the city's homeless. The co-sponsors of this proposal said they just want to protect their other residents from the most dangerous campers who often refuse help and give police tools to enforce the city's laws.
"I'm always getting complaints about what is the abatements, that we're not abating fast," said Council Member Angela Lawson.
"We want too for our police department to have more options if needed and that's what this is about," said Sundberg.
The Aurora City Council is set to vote on these possible changes at the council's meeting on Jan. 27.
