KDSN RADIO News
Targeting homeless camps, Des Moines leaders ban camping, sleeping in public
The Des Moines City Council voted last night for a ban on camping and sleeping on public property that targets homeless people. The council also approved lowering the notice time before removing tents and shelters from ten days to three. After each ordinance passed, crowds outside the chamber booed and chanted in dissent.
Councilmember Josh Mandelbaum said the bans would create more problems for homeless people rather than helping them.
Mandelbaum says, “When we do this piecemeal and at the last minute and in an untransparent way, we’re not optimizing what we could be doing.”
Under the new bans, people who do not agree to move to a shelter can be arrested, charged with a simple misdemeanor and fined $15. The ordinances both passed 5-to-2 with Councilmembers Mandelbaum and Mike Simonson voting no.
Councilman Chris Coleman, who chairs the Homeless Coordinating Council, said the original idea for the bans came from a group of council members.
“The five people that voted for it tonight all ran for election in the fall. We all got elected,” Coleman says. “I think it was loud and clear that people wanted us to find better long-term solutions both to help the homeless but also to make sure that we are accountable for keeping our parks and sidewalks safe so that the public can enjoy them.”
Before the vote, Coleman introduced a $50,000 housing fund that could be used for services such as rental deposits and moving expenses. Coleman said the city would distribute the money through a nonprofit provider which the city has not chosen yet.
The council does not yet have a timeline for when the bans will go into effect.
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