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Commissioners direct coordinated ‘Homelessness on the Bayou’ framework, order 311 tracking
Summary
Court approved a countywide framework for addressing encampments on flood-control property and instructed Universal Services to add a dedicated tracking category to 3-1-1; the court required outreach before any closure and asked for a September status report.
Harris County Commissioners Court on May 8 approved a countywide framework to manage homeless encampments on flood-control property and directed county staff to create a consistent public reporting channel for such sites.
The so-called “Homelessness on the Bayou” framework, developed by the Harris County Flood Control District with partners including outreach providers and law enforcement, outlines a safety-first process for assessing, coordinating outreach, and clearing encampments in flood-prone rights-of-way. Commissioners directed Universal Services to update the county’s 3-1-1 system so residents can report encampments in a way that triggers coordinated responses and tracking across agencies.
Commissioner Adrian Garcia, who brought the item to the dais, said the approach balances compassion and safety: the policy mandates at least 14 days of outreach before closure and requires housing and service partners to participate in the engagement phase. Garcia said clearing encampments is a public-safety issue because flood-control rights-of-way flood rapidly and can present life-threatening conditions.
Dr. Jaime Peterson, Executive Director of the Harris County Flood Control District, and other staff provided an overview. The court record shows 31 known encampments in flood-control right-of-ways at the time of the hearing; the district said six of those had already been cleared and the remaining 25 were pending action. Commissioners heard that the average cost per site was about $700,000 and that typical site processing — assessment, outreach, coordination and clearance — had taken about 3½ weeks.
The court vote included a motion to require Universal Services to add a specific encampment-reporting category to 3-1-1, import employee mobile numbers for emergency notification, and coordinate county partners including the sheriff’s office, constables, flood control, housing, public health and community outreach groups such as the Coalition for the Homeless. The motion, which included a request that the county return to Commissioners Court with status information in September 2025, passed 4-0.
Why it matters: Flood-control right-of-ways are high-risk locations for encampments because they can flood quickly and severely. The framework establishes a countywide, multiagency workflow for reporting, outreach and safe clearance and creates a public-facing, auditable trail of reports and agency responses.
Court action: the Commissioners Court approved the framework and directed Universal Services to modify 3-1-1 and coordinate agency responses; the court also asked for a status report by September 2025.
