The Greeley City Council approved a city-wide camping ban, criminalizing camping within city limits, storing objects on public property and allowing people to camp on private property for longer than seven days within a calendar year.
The ban, which passed on a 5-2 vote at Tuesday night’s meeting, will go into effect on Wednesday, June 11.
The ban was first proposed as a means of addressing health and safety concerns, such as open fires that can quickly get out of control and human waste in the waterways that can introduce E. coli, according to city staff. City departments including Homeless Solutions, Public Works, Greeley Police and the City Attorney’s Office conducted several years of research on how to address homelessness, leading to the ordinance.
The camping ban will make it a misdemeanor to camp in public spaces that are not approved by the city, with camping defined as the use of property for overnight occupancy or to dwell in a place by erecting a shelter. Additionally, it will be a misdemeanor to store or abandon personal items — defined as items used for personal needs, comfort or preferences — in a public space.
According to the city’s municipal code, a misdemeanor charge can carry a fine of $500 to $1,000, imprisonment for up to one year or both.
People will also be prohibited from camping on private property for more than seven days in a calendar year, regardless of whether permission is obtained from the property owner. In that situation, city staff confirmed that both the person camping and the property owner could be charged with a misdemeanor, though such a situation would be rare, they said.
City officials say the main goal of the ban is increasing public health and safety, with a focus on education, awareness and support over punitive measures.
Greeley Police Chief Adam Turk has described the ban as a “tool in the toolbox” to help facilitate the removal of homeless people from public spaces. Turk has reiterated at several city council meetings that officers would begin with education and verbal warnings before issuing citations or arrests.
On Tuesday, Greeley residents showed up at the council meeting to speak out against the ban, many criticizing the council for implementing this ban without a year-round shelter being established.
“There’s no question that this would be an easier proposition if we had a 24/7, 365 shelter,” Mayor John Gates said. “The Mayor’s Task Force on Homelessness Executive Committee has worked for months now on the homeless shelter. If I thought we were close, I would be all for putting this off for a bit, but we’re not that close. We’re getting there, but we’re not there yet.”
Shawn Walcott, director of health promotion for the University of Northern Colorado, urged the council not to proceed with the ban. Walcott, who’s had personal experience with homelessness, said such a move would only exacerbate the homeless situation in Greeley.
“This camping ban has been presented as a tool, and tools solve problems. But research has shown that camping bans don’t solve the problem,” Walcott said. “It destroys the trust that homeless services have gained with the homeless population. This would undo all the work those programs have done over all these years.”
Councilman Dale Hall, Councilman Johnny Olson and Councilwoman Melissa McDonald asked others to consider the needs of the rest of the city.
“I think this council has been very compassionate,” Olson said. “We’ve done a lot, and we continue to do a lot, and I want people to think about compassion for the citizens of our community that might not be vulnerable but do pay their taxes and do use the parks, but do not go there.
“I hear often from people all over the community that they don’t feel safe going to the parks. They don’t want to take their kids to the park where there’s a whole bunch of homeless people camping.”
In a news release announcing the ban’s adoption, the city reported it has spent more than $155,000 over the past two years cleaning up abandoned property, debris and trash around the city, particularly along rivers and waterways. Additionally, city staff have worked for more than 700 hours to remove about 60 truck loads of trash.
A camp fire beneath a bridge cost the city nearly $100,000 to repair a girder and melted conduit, according to the release.
Councilman Tommy Butler and Councilwoman Deb DeBoutez remained firmly against the ban. Without a year-round shelter, they said, the ban would only move homeless people around the city until they leave. Officials counted 541 homeless people in the city as of December 2024.
Gates said the ban would be helpful for the Greeley Police Department in dealing with homeless people who don’t want to move. He also said he doesn’t believe there are officers in the department who are eager to arrest homeless people.
“I don’t want to criminalize homelessness, but how about those people out there that remain defiant and won’t move?” Gates asked. “I heard a common theme in research that I’ve done, talking to other mayors that I respect, and two of the three said that it doesn’t solve all the problems, but it is a tool. It is a tool, and I want to give our law enforcement that tool, and that’s the sole reason I am going to support it.”
The ban passed in a 5-2 vote, with Butler and DeBoutez voting against.
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