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Los Ranchos adopts ordinance to criminalize certain camping on public property, trustees and law enforcement stress outreach-first approach
Summary
The board adopted Ordinance 302 updating criminal-code definitions (including camping materials and recreational vehicles) to create a petty‑misdemeanor citation process for camping in public spaces; law enforcement said citations will be a tool to trigger outreach and services, not immediate incarceration, and trustees asked staff to pursue agreements with service providers.
The Village of Los Ranchos de Albuquerque on June 24 adopted Ordinance 302 amending several criminal‑code provisions to create an enforceable misdemeanors‑based process for certain forms of camping and related public‑space conduct.
The ordinance updates definitions in chapter 7 (including adding recreational vehicles to the definition of camping materials) and substitutes language to track changes in state law. "We have put in here really a map from Beaverton, Oregon that was specifically approved by the U.S. Supreme Court as to what was enforceable," counsel told the trustees, explaining the village worked to ensure the local language is constitutionally defensible.
Public safety staff and deputies described the ordinance as an operational tool. Captain Toddler Jenkins (speaking for field deputies) and Chief Pettis said the village will not use the ordinance to "rip people's sleeping bags off them" but rather to create a formal process that allows law enforcement to notify social‑service partners and, when possible, arrange shelter and other resources. Jenkins described prior informal, humanitarian efforts in which deputies or the county helped secure short‑term hotel rooms in urgent situations.
"We are not looking at arresting people for camping. We're looking at starting a process to relocate them," counsel said, adding that the ordinance authorizes coordination with agencies that provide outreach and services.
Trustees and staff acknowledged practical gaps exist: many local shelters prioritize families or women and may not accept single men, and the village does not have an established motel‑voucher program. Sheriff‑area deputies said outreach teams and mental‑health personnel can be assembled to assist, but that long‑term housing solutions lie outside the village's direct authority. Several trustees urged staff to formalize memoranda of understanding with county and city outreach teams and to consider funding short‑term vouchers or other humanitarian supports.
The board approved Ordinance 302 by roll‑call vote (Trustee Benvitas, Trustee Kefir, Trustee Renovich and Trustee Rel recorded as voting yes). At the meeting, staff emphasized the ordinance's role as part of a broader outreach‑and‑referral system rather than as a strategy to incarcerate people living outdoors.
What happens next: Village staff will continue discussions with Bernalillo County and Albuquerque outreach partners about an MOU to provide outreach services; trustees asked staff to return with options for humanitarian short‑term support (for example, vouchers) and a plan for managing property removed from encampments.
