City leaders are wrestling with how to best manage a growing population of people experiencing homelessness in Taylor.
At the Jan. 12 meeting, city staff introduced a new ordinance to regulate camping in public areas and create a warning policy for trespassers on city grounds.
“This is to provide more clarity and certainty for officers to have,” said City Manager Brian LaBorde.
Under the proposed rule, camping in public areas would be prohibited within the city limits of Taylor, though “merely falling asleep in a public area” is not, and personal items may not be left unattended. Certain exceptions, including travelling through the city in a camper or motor vehicle, are allowed.
According to the ordinance, any person receiving a citation would have the opportunity to appeal within 30 days to the Municipal Court.
LaBorde said the ordinance is needed to give police officers more guidance.
“When we have asked for assistance of police, we have had to ask for miscellaneous ordinances to kind of pluck from to assist with the incident,” LaBorde said. “And that could be from unruly conduct or an individual entering a facility with alcohol to also camping in facilities that were not intended to be stayed in, thus causing vandalism and other types of destruction of property.”
While thinking it was necessary to take steps, District 2 Councilman Mitch Drummond expressed concern that this ordinance was not the right approach. Instead, he suggested a commission of community members and churches could seek a better solution.
“I know we have got a housing issue, Drummond said. “We have got a lot of unhoused folks out there on the street. If we make it illegal for them to camp on public property, where are they going to go?”
But other members of the council said the ordinance was needed.
“It’s not an easy fix,” said At-large councilman Dwayne Ariola. “It’s a national problem, and it’s a state problem. I think we need to give our law enforcement officers a tool to use.”
District 4
Councilman Robert Garcia said through his work assisting the homeless, he believes mental health issues and drug and alcohol dependencies are the main problem.“If you house a homeless person, you are not fixing the bottom-line issue,” Garcia said. “The bottom-line issue is a majority of them need mental health help, in my opinion.”
District 1
Councilman Gerald Anderson, who works extensively with homelessness in the city, also said the ordinance was needed.
“I walk the trails quite a bit, and there are places on those trails where it’s just out of hand with how they are making the area look,” he said.
“And they are making where other citizens cannot enjoy our amenities because they fear for their safety. I don’t think anybody here is heartless so as to say that we want to take these people, get rid of them, and not give them anywhere to go, but we do have to do something to make sure everybody can use the amenities.”
LaBorde said the city seeks to take a compassionate approach.
“We don’t just go in and just evict,” LaBorde said. “We do have a process. When we see an encampment, before we approach to mitigate it we meet as a team, and we do look at all available resources to help that individual.”
