Des Moines proposes 'harder-line' on homelessness, with camping ban, speedier removal

UPDATE: Des Moines city leaders on Friday made changes to a proposed ordinance to ban camping in public areas, which will come before the City Council at a work session and special meeting Monday morning. The changes, which were republished on the city's website, are as follows:

• The proposed fine for violating the camping ban ordinance was reduced from $120 to $50. Violations are misdemeanors and don't include jail time.

• Campers found in violation of the ordinance will be offered one-time transportation to a shelter location or will be given directions to a shelter.

• Those who refuse the shelter and refuse to vacate the public property would be considered in violation of the ordinance. A camper may not be penalized if there is no shelter space in the city.

• Community service may be ordered if a person cannot afford to pay a fine.

ORIGINAL ARTICLE:

Following a U.S. Supreme Court ruling, Des Moines is looking to ban camping and reduce the number of days people have to remove their belongings from public spaces.

Proposed ordinances that take what city leaders call a "harder-line" approach to addressing homelessness would end Des Moines' complaint-based system of dealing with homeless campsites. City staff would be empowered to remove and clean them up on their own initiative.

City Council member Chris Coleman, chair of the Homeless Coordinating Council, said the policies are meant to increase the city's effectiveness in getting people off the street and into programs to better their lives.

"And I know it's hard to live on the streets," Coleman said. "It's not easy. It's not healthy, a lot of times it's not safe. But we have too many people (who feel like) that's a better situation than moving into one of our shelters, and that's a problem.

"And so we need to improve our shelters and make it not quite so easy to live on the streets. We want it to be easier to live where there are services and programs that can build their lives better."

The proposed changes drew criticism from one council member, Josh Mandelbaum, and multiple Polk County-based homeless service providers, who said the county lacks alternatives, including enough shelter space and affordable housing options. Other Des Moines City Council members did not immediately respond to the Des Moines Register for comment Friday.

On Saturday, ACLU of Iowa sent the council a letter calling on members to reject the proposed changes and instead focus on better access to housing and services. The letter also asks the council not to waive further reading of the ordinance changes, thus allowing more time for public discussion.

The proposed changes follow the U.S. Supreme Court's recent ruling that people experiencing homelessness can be arrested and fined for sleeping in public spaces.

The 6-3 decision, the most significant from the court on homelessness in decades, overturned a lower court's ruling that enforcing camping bans when shelter space is unavailable is cruel and unusual punishment.

More: Des Moines may get more 'assertive' after US Supreme Court lets cities ban homeless camps

It comes amid a more than 12% increase in homelessness to a total of more than 650,000 people in the U.S. in 2023, representing the largest unhoused population since the U.S. Department of Urban Planning and Development began tracking it in 2007.

Coleman said unsheltered people are becoming more visible and more concerning to Des Moines residents. The latest figures from a semiannual point-in-time count in Polk County, conducted over a 24-hour period in January, showed 715 people experiencing homelessness ― an 11% jump from the previous year.

Coleman said Des Moines is at a "tipping point" that, once passed, could result in a situation like those in some larger cities, where homeless populations are "out of control." Also, he said, a small percentage of people who are homeless are "disregarding our property, shunning our rules, and disrespecting our people."

"And we have to be very serious about sounding the alarm that it's important to act. To do more, fund more, provide more and hold people accountable more than ever," he said. "Or the tipping point will happen."

The proposals will come before the City Council on Monday in an added work session and special council meeting following a continuation of last week's council meeting, which was postponed as a tornado swept through the Des Moines metro.

The ordinances would go into effect 14 days after approval, Des Moines Assistant City Manager Malcolm Hankins said.

What would a changed Des Moines ordinance on camp cleanups include?

Hankins said the city's proposed ordinance changes have two distinct elements.

This first involves altering the city's current encroachment policy, which says structures, tents or shelter items left untended on public property can be removed and disposed of under City Code.

Under the current rules, encroachment cleanups are primarily prompted by complaints from community members. The owners of the items have 10 days to remove their belongings before the city's Neighborhood Inspections Division ― a department whose duties include overseeing condemned buildings and junk abatement ― clears the site.

Should the proposed ordinance pass, the city wouldn't need to wait for a complaint. Instead, a team of city staff such as police officers and public works employees would likely take action proactively depending on resources, Hankins said. The city also would reduce the time owners have to remove their items to three days. Any order still could be appealed within those three days.

After three days, city staff would remove any property remaining. People's items of value would be stored by the city without charge for up to 30 days, Hankins said.

"I think this is a place where the city could improve by storing personal possessions rather than discarding" them, Coleman said.

More: How much has Des Moines spent on clearing and cleaning up homeless camps in 2024?

The second proposed change is an ordinance that prohibits people from camping in public spaces, including sidewalks, streets, alleys, parks and under bridges.

People found occupying a campsite in a public space would have 24 hours to clean it up. After that, the city could remove the campsite and personal items. As with encroachment cleanups, belongings of value would be stored for 30 days.

People who violate the rule could be fined up to $120, the proposed ordinance states.

Hankins said the camping rules wouldn't apply to designated campsites in city parks or during special events or other times when the city authorizes camping. He said, ideally, the ordinances would prompt people to clean up their campsites so that the city wouldn't have to.

The city will continue to hold off on notices and camp cleanups when the National Weather Service forecasts wind chill below 10 degrees over 48 hours, as well as during the winter and summer point-in-time counts.

More: Polk County response to homelessness 'significantly' short of community need, study shows

Council member also wants to break down barriers to shelter use

Coleman said the city is simultaneously working to remove common barriers to accessing shelter, such as concerns over storage of belongings, separation of people from their pets, and lack of transportation.

In addition to providing 30-day storage, the city is working to formalize partnerships with organizations such as the Animal Rescue League of Iowa to host pets and work more closely with local service providers and shelter operators to connect with people who are camping in public spaces.

Some service providers already get a heads-up from the city about encroachment complaints, allowing the providers to link up with people experiencing homelessness before the cleanup occurs.

"Breaking down the obstacles (to) going to the shelter is more important to me than the ordinance," Coleman said. "So we gotta do both sides of the coin at the same time."

He said he expects pushback on the ordinance, adding that community feedback is important to consider. But he said there needs to be a call to action, which means challenging service providers to step up and showing "tough love" to those who are experiencing homelessness.

"This is about helping people. And we are not helping people when we let them perpetually live on our streets and in our woods," Coleman said. "We can be a better community on that. But it takes both a carrot and a stick, and we need to be good at both of those things."

Service providers express concerns, cite lack of housing options

Angie Arthur, executive director of Homeward, Polk County's homelessness planning organization, said she understands the concern about people who are homeless sleeping outside, but says the metro lacks enough resources such as shelter space and affordable housing units. She pointed to a study published in early 2024 that revealed Polk County needs about three times the funding it currently gives to housing, emergency shelter and other resources for people experiencing homelessness.

"So that becomes a challenge to be able to move from sheltered or unsheltered to a permanent housing when there's that significant gap," Arthur said.

For every 100 "extremely low-income households" looking for housing, there are 26 available, Arthur said.

"We can ask our service providers to do more," she said. "However, we need to have the investment in the community by the community, by our local governments, by the state government, and I would say even the federal government, to support the work that they do."

She added the organization's concern is that fines could become a long-term barrier to housing should the ordinances pass.

More: Why do some Des Moines homeless people avoid shelter? A new study finds out, plus other takeaways

Anawim Housing CEO Cynthia Latcham said Friday there are not enough housing-first resources to serve the most vulnerable population, which is the most successful evidence-based practice to support people leaving "long-term, outside homelessness."

For service providers, the proposed ordinance is a "gut punch because we are working to solve this issue without enough resources, so it's very disheartening," Latcham said. "And at the same time, we operate under research and evidence-based practices and so we know that fining people will have adverse consequences and that not everyone will be able to or will be accepted into the shelters."

Since there's not enough space within shelters, and shelters are not equipped to accept everyone who's outside, it begs the question: "Where do these folks go to?" she asked.

Hope Ministries Chief Development Officer Kathy Coady said on Friday that homelessness is a community concern and it's good that the city is paying attention to the issue. Coady said the agency will have to get a better understanding of what impact the ordinances would have should they pass. She also said that logistics such as how the city will work with shelter operators and secure personal storage will need to be "further fleshed out."

"We certainly also want to have empathy and consideration for our residents who are currently experiencing homelessness and to provide them safe and dignified options and recognize there are options that exist within the community. And, you know, we look forward to continuing to cooperate with the city and other service providers so that we can continue to impact that," she said.

Coady added that Bethel Mission, a 110-bed shelter for men, occasionally accommodates more than maximum capacity when needed, rather than turning people away. The agency is working to fill a gap for women and children with a new center at 3800 E. Douglas Ave. with 50 short-term and 50 long-term beds.

Hope Ministries is also undertaking a project that could convert a former children's group at 1301 Kenyon Ave. into affordable housing for recently homeless men. Coincidentally, a vote on whether to approve a request to rezone the property will be picked up Monday morning from the council agenda last week, Coady said.

More: Neighbors rally against plans for group home for men on Des Moines' south side

Mandelbaum called the proposed policy change process "abysmal," criticizing the city for letting service providers know about the proposal the same day it went live on the city's website and not allowing extensive council deliberation and public comment. He added it appears the proposals "will not house another person but they will criminalize and create more barriers for people getting housing."

In a statement issued Saturday, Mark Stringer, ACLU of Iowa executive director, said the Supreme Court's recent ruling "doesn't mean it's open season on taking action to harass people with no other options."

"Just because someone doesn't have housing doesn't mean that they don't have constitutional rights," Stringer said. "These include constitutional protections of due process, free speech, and others. It's particularly heartless that the city is also considering fining people who are homeless $120."

Stringer encouraged the council to focus on "real solutions to the problem of homelessness — not just endlessly punishing and moving people who are homeless out of sight. These include better shelter capacity and options."

Asked about pushback to the proposed policy, Coleman said: "I get very offended when, you know, people want to say that we're trying to criminalize homelessness. We are not," he said. "But we do have to have regulations and rules about people's behavior, and it's really important to me that we stress the difference."

Virginia Barreda is the Des Moines city government reporter for the Register. She can be reached at vbarreda@dmreg.com. Follow her on Twitter at @vbarreda2. 

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Des Moines looks to implement 'harder-line' approach on homelessness