Ithaca staff present draft encampment-response report; recommends navigation hub near Southwest Park

Deputy City Manager Dominic Recchio presented a draft report and policy edits on March 12 that update Ithaca’s pilot encampment-response policy and recommend a phased approach: retain the temporary non-enforcement zone in Southwest Park, develop a nearby navigation hub for services and make selected infrastructure and livability improvements to the parcel.

The report summarizes a 2024 pilot implementation, outreach-worker engagement, and the advisory committee’s meetings over recent months. Dominic described the policy’s original charge as directing the city manager to create a response protocol for encampments on city land and said the protocol distinguishes active daily-use sites, lightly managed properties and the temporary non-enforcement zone behind Walmart known in the report as the Southwest parcel.

Dominic told the council the advisory committee surveyed people with lived experience and received 19 written responses and a focus group. He cited counts provided by the Continuum of Care showing an average of about 13 people sleeping outdoors during the coldest 10 days of January (2022–2024) and as many as 65 people in July in peak months. The committee recommended keeping the temporary non-enforcement zone…