The Toms River Township Council adopted a final ordinance establishing rules and regulations for the municipal parking garage and concourses at the municipal complex, including a framework for enforcement of unauthorized occupancy.

The ordinance passed on final reading after the council opened the floor to public comment; several providers and homelessness-response advocates urged the council to avoid punitive enforcement and instead fund outreach and housing solutions.

Monarch Housing Associates, a nonprofit that coordinates homelessness services in parts of New Jersey, urged the council to “vote no” on punitive measures, saying outreach teams in Ocean County had engaged more than 78 people and moved 51 into hotel placements. A Monarch representative warned that issuing fines or jail time to people with no place to move their belongings would create “a revolving door” of fines, incarceration and renewed street homelessness and would increase costs to the township.

Residents and clergy who spoke at the meeting said enforcement in parking garages risks criminalizing people who lack housing and could make them less likely to accept housing offers. Several council members and the administration said the ordinance is intended to keep the municipal complex safe and accessible and that enforcement would be coordinated with outreach where possible.

Council discussion referenced available county resources: one council member noted the county will open a Code Blue/Code Red shelter at a former PIC building on Route 9 starting in early August and urged the township to coordinate services with Ocean County. The council adopted the ordinance but several speakers said they would press the township to amend the rules to emphasize outreach, alternatives to fines, and explicit coordination with county sheltering and housing programs.

What’s next: implementation of the ordinance will be managed by municipal staff; advocates asked the council to publish an enforcement protocol that prioritizes outreach and referral to housing services rather than fines and arrests.