Thornton council backs posting park hours, delays camping ban after debate

Thornton City Council on Feb. 22 heard a staff-led update on the city's encampment-response procedures and proposed code amendments to clarify park hours and prohibit tents, shelters and other structures on public property.

Parks supervisor Bob Keys said the city's parks maintenance crew now monitors parks, open spaces and trail corridors at least twice a week. "When those things are identified, noticed, the first thing that our team is doing is that we are looking to make that initial contact with this resident, offer services, provide connection with them with HOT," Keys said, referring to the homeless outreach team. He described a two-step enforcement timeline: staff returns 24 to 48 hours after initial contact and, if the encampment remains, posts a notice of abatement and schedules cleanup 24 to 48 hours after the posting, with a longer 44-hour timeframe in waterways or flood zones.

Adam Stevens from the City Attorney's Office laid out proposed code amendments included in the council packet: apply the existing park closure hours (10 p.m. to 6 a.m.) to parkways, open spaces and trails; make clear that tents and similar temporary structures are prohibited in parks and natural areas; and add a definition of "camping" that would limit private-property camping to written owner permission and to no more than three consecutive days or 15 days in a calendar year.

The package also anticipates modest updates to park signage so the public can see posted hours and any prohibitions. Keys said staff aims to install signage at known hot spots within six months and complete a systemwide buildout over two to three years. He added that the 2026 budget moves management of most public-property abatement funds into Parks ($300,000), while Code Compliance retains $188,000 for other abatements.

Council members were split over the proposed camping prohibition. Several members framed the change as an enforcement "toolbox" intended to protect public health and park resources; others said adopting a camping ban now risked criminalizing people without housing and urged waiting for a planned April 21 presentation on safe-parking and pallet-shelter options before taking any action on private-property camping. One council member pointed to recent city abatement costs, saying the city spent about $206,317 on encampment abatements in one year and argued that clearer authority could reduce repeated cleanup costs.

After discussion, council gave staff direction to move forward with two items now: post and standardize park, open space and trail hours consistent with the 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. rule, and retitle code section 46-40 to make prohibitions on tents and structures explicit in the title. Council agreed to hold off on adding the proposed camping prohibition (code reference in the packet: 46-38-182) and asked staff to return with safe-parking data and related analysis at the April 21 meeting.

Staff also said the city will continue to prioritize referrals to the homeless outreach team and community liaison officers to offer services before any abatement activity.

The council's direction is procedural; no ordinance was adopted at the meeting. The next substantive step on camping policy is a staff presentation and data discussion scheduled for April 21.