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Council tightens camping rules, shortens enforcement window in revised ordinance
Summary
Council adopted a substantially revised unauthorized‑camping ordinance that aligns city rules with recent court decisions and state law, adds removal/abatement procedures and a cost‑recovery section, and approved an amendment shortening enforcement timing from 10 days to 3 business days.
Daniel introduced a substantially rewritten ordinance to address gaps in Greenville's prior camping code and to align the city's rules with recent legal developments. He said the packet cites the U.S. Supreme Court decision in City of Grants Pass v. Johnson and changes to the Texas Health and Safety Code.
"This does away with that, and instead, adopts, the test that the Texas Legislature and the Supreme Court have passed," Daniel said, describing how the revised language removes a prior requirement that a campsite include a transitory shelter such as a blanket or cardboard and instead adopts the new legal test. The revision also adds a procedure for removal and abatement of unauthorized campsites, requires the city to hold removed materials for 30 days so occupants can retrieve belongings, and adds a recovery‑of‑costs section aimed at recouping removal costs from absentee landowners.
Councilmember [mover] made a motion to approve the ordinance with an amendment shortening the enforcement timing from 10 days to three business days; the motion was seconded and the ordinance passed unanimously.
Why it matters: the rewrite is intended to close identified loopholes and provide clear steps for notice, removal and cost recovery while reflecting recent court and statutory guidance. The council shortened the enforcement window as an operational change intended to speed responses to unauthorized campsites.
Speakers quoted in this article come from the meeting transcript and include Daniel. The article does not attribute the second for the motion because the transcript did not clearly identify the seconding speaker.
