File photo
File photo
The Austin City Council approved a number of actions designed to help alleviate homelessness in the city as the Council considers asking voters if they would like to ban the homeless from camping in several public areas of the city.
During its hearing, the Council directed city staffers to move forward on using money for homeless programs made available by Project Connect, a $7.1 billion city transit light rail plan approved by voters last November. In addition, the Council approved the acquisition of an 83-room hotel on Pecan Park Boulevard in Northwest Austin to provide housing and related services for the homeless.
A third approved initiative extends contracts with service nonprofit providers Good Work Austin, a small business advocacy group, and Sysco, a food services company. The two organizations will partner with Eating Apart Together, a food distribution nonprofit, to provide food, water and hygiene items to homeless residents during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The action comes as city officials consider whether to reestablish an ordinance that bans camping in public places. The former ordinance ban, in place for 23 years, was lifted by the council in June 2019. It ended the issuing of citations for illegal camping after Council members determined the homeless had nowhere else to go.
However, complaints about the homeless taking over parts of South Central Austin, the city’s east side, and Northwest and downtown Austin resulted in a reappraisal. A petition with 20,000 signatures asking for the issue to go to a vote of residents in May was certified by the city last week. It remains unclear if the election will be adopted by the Council or if a new ordinance will be enacted.
City officials indicated they will seek conversion of hotel space to house the homeless and specific areas where camping might be allowed. City officials have called the current situation, homeless camping in public areas of their choice dangerous and “unhealthy.”
Transcripts of the Austin City Council actions can be accessed at the city website.
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