Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Homelessness Policy topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Council sends proposed ordinance on unsheltered homelessness to committee of the whole after floor dispute
Summary
Sponsor forwarded Bill 83 — an ordinance establishing city procedures for responding to unsheltered homeless encampments — to a committee of the whole, prompting a councilmember to allege political manipulation and ask that it instead go to Parks and Recreation for detailed review.
Councilmember(s) introduced Bill 83, described in the ordinance text as "protecting public health and safety, reducing the harms experienced by unsheltered homeless residents, and creating procedures relating to city responses to people who are homeless living outdoors." The sponsor said the bill sets standards and procedures for remedying unsafe conditions while protecting the rights and property of homeless individuals.
The sponsor moved to forward the bill to a committee of the whole, saying the ordinance will affect multiple city bureaus and merits full‑council review. Another councilmember objected to that committee assignment, calling the move "political manipulation" and urging the bill be referred to Parks and Recreation, which the objecting member said is historically where related matters are considered. That councilmember said he believed sending the bill to committee of the whole was intended to stall the measure.
The sponsor said the bill would go to committee of the whole because of the ordinance's citywide effects. The meeting record ends with the chair confirming the item will be forwarded to the committee of the whole for consideration.
