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Regulatory Services presents first encampment‑closure report: 17 closures, 227 affected, $330,000 in direct city costs
Summary
Regulatory Services reported on 17 encampment closures from July–December 2024 that affected 227 people. Staff connected with about 169 individuals; the city recorded nine shelter acceptances and spent roughly $330,000 on closures, with Minneapolis Police accounting for the largest share.
Regulatory Services Director Enrique Velasquez presented the city’s first Encampment Closure Report to the Business, Housing and Zoning Committee on March 20, 2025, summarizing closures from July 25 through December 18, 2024. The report covers 17 closures during that period, 227 affected individuals, and a total city‑documented closure cost of more than $330,000.
Velasquez told the committee that the city’s two‑person Homeless Response Team (which expanded to six staff in November) made contact with 169 of the 227 people affected by the closures and that nine people accepted shelter through the team’s interventions. He cautioned those figures do not capture additional shelter or housing outcomes that may have occurred through Hennepin County outreach or service providers, because data collection systems and privacy protections prevent the city from linking individual outcomes across agencies.
The report breaks down costs and hours by department: Minneapolis Police accounted for about $269,000 (71% of labor hours), Public Works just under $55,000, and Regulatory Services just over $8,000. The city calculated an average cost per closure of roughly $13,000. Velasquez noted three high‑cost closure dates (July 25, Oct. 1 and Nov. 12) correlated with public‑safety incidents that required larger cross‑agency responses.
Key findings and limitations identified in the report include: - Many encampments reform at the same sites after closure (11 of 17 formed on previously cleared locations). - The average encampment duration in the sample was about 50 days (range: 5–147 days). - No arrests were made during the reported closures. - Storage options offered for personal belongings were not accepted by individuals; the city plans an RFP to expand more accessible storage options. - Data gaps hinder linkage of city engagement records to county and provider records, limiting the city’s ability to report comprehensive housing outcomes.
Committee members discussed the data and operational implications at length. Council Member Cashman and others asked how the health department and Hennepin County coordinate with city teams; Velasquez said the city provides site notifications and that county outreach teams are asked to increase engagement when closures are planned. Council Member Chuktai emphasized centering people’s needs and noted the low conversion from contact to shelter (nine accepted shelters out of 169 contacts) as an indicator that system capacity, shelter availability or outreach timing may need change.
The committee received and filed the report.
