AUSTIN, Texas — Austin Mayor Steve Adler posted on the city council message board on Wednesday saying, "Our work session discussion yesterday regarding homelessness was productive, but it was apparent that we needed more time to discuss the topic."
Adler said along with pulling items for discussion and to get more information from staff on Thursday, staff are also prepared for a special called meeting on Monday afternoon.
This comes after a City memo, released on Tuesday, in which Austin's homeless strategy manager told the mayor and city council members they should loosen some of the restrictions on sanctioned homeless encampments so more City-owned land could work for an approved homeless camp.
The memo sent by Dianna Grey states there are too many secondary restrictions from the May 18 meeting, making it difficult to find sites able to use.
"Applying all of the Secondary Criteria articulated by Council Members at the May 18 presentation and thereafter severely limits the use of City-owned land as an option for consideration," the memo reads. "If Council modifies the Secondary Criteria to allow for some City-owned land options to be considered for encampments, staff will continue our analysis of any identified properties and will build the framework for a community engagement process."
According to Grey's memo, the "secondary criteria" include:
Potential disqualifiers
- Environmental sensitivity (e.g., designation as a nature preserve, presence of endangered species, and/or risks related to invasive species spread, water quality, or wildlife habitat)
- Restricts citizen access to high-use public amenities or programming
- Proximity to schools (e.g., not within 300 ft.)
- Lacks access to utilities, and improvements are likely to require significant capital investment
- Property is in active City operation or there is a current agreement for the property’s use
- Active solicitation for city services or property redevelopment
"If I were to apply all the base criteria and the secondary criteria, it would severely limit all the options available for city-owned land," said Parks and Recreation Department Director Kimberly McNeeley.
Last month, the City of Austin released a list of 45 City-owned locations to be considered for designated homeless campsites. A City spokesperson said the list was not final and would "most certainly change."
In that report, City leaders were required to note several items, such as best practices for sanctioned encampments, a description of basic infrastructure for them and criteria for their selection, among other things. View the full May 14 report here.
Last week, the Texas Legislature sent House Bill 1925, a statewide ban on public camping, to Gov. Greg Abbott's desk. If he signs it into law, it will take effect on Sept. 1.
"That particular bill talks about the sanctioned encampments and disqualifies parkland altogether," said McNeeley. "So, therefore, if you want to remove parkland from this conversation, there’s really only one piece of land that even seems viable, and it would require some mitigation ... for that piece of public land to be used."
Local Black leaders have criticized the City's list of potential campsite locations, citing inequities. The Black Leaders Collective pointed out most of the proposed locations are on Austin's east side, where just six of the 45 are not in "food deserts" and nine of the 45 are on landfills.
The City Council first approved a resolution related to creating designated campsites for people experiencing homelessness in early May. The resolution directed the city manager to:
- research best practices related to temporarily designated encampments on public land
- present the Council with a description of and budget for appropriate infrastructure at designated encampments such as lighting, water, restrooms, showers, storage and security
- provide criteria for citing designated encampments
- and identify publicly owned land or land within the city limits owned by willing community partners that could accommodate temporary housing
The resolution stated that no later than June 1, the city manager would be required to present the council with a proposed schedule, estimated total costs, financial resources and possible community partners who could share expenses and potentially provide services at multiple designated campsites.
In the City memo on June 1, the Grey asked the city council to "provide policy direction on Secondary Criteria on or before June 10" and laid out this encampment implementation timeline:
Phase one: June 2021
- Designated encampments
- Continue to assess the most viable options for designated encampments for City-owned land and other potential properties.
- Continue to compile information on entities that have, over time, reached out to the Homeless Strategy Officer, other staff and council offices about possible land options, contractual services, and/or equipment, including individual shelter structures.
- Restoration of congregate shelter capacity
- In acknowledgement of the community’s entry into a lower (Stage 2) COVID risk level, request new occupancy guidelines for congregate shelter from the Health Authority.
- Establish timeline and protocols for restoring capacity, where feasible.
- Conversion of leased motel(s) to bridge shelter
- Demobilize remaining ProLodge operations under the emergency public health response, per direction of public health officials.
- If feasible, execute leases on one or more motel properties for one year.
- Consider contracting with existing site managers and service providers for ongoing operations.
Phase two: July 2021
- Designated encampments
- Work with the Office of Real Estate to execute lease agreements on any non-City of Austin property identified.
- Plan initial project or projects assuming an operational period of two-years.
- To allow for a coordinated and public process, work with Purchasing to issue a Request for Information (RFI). The RFI process will allow the City to identify:
- Potential partners that might provide property, equipment, operational capacity, and/or services.
- Projected costs of any contracted services, including opportunities to leverage non-City resources.
- Congregate shelters
- Expand capacity, depending on COVID Risk Stage guidance.
- Conversion of leased motel(s) to bridge shelter
- Finalize any agreements needed for operations and services.
- Target occupancy of first hotel by July 15.
Phase three: August 2021
- Designated encampments
- Negotiate agreements/contracts for up to a two-year period.
- Operationalize at least one designated encampment site.
- Conversion of leased motel(s) to bridge shelter
- Open any additional bridge shelter, if applicable.
In the City memo, it recommends using $4.7 million of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) in June to provide funds for both short-term shelter strategies and nonprofit capacity building. The memo also states that $4.2 million would cover the rental cost of bridge shelter, food, behavioral health services and social services to an estimated 400 people experiencing homelessness.
In addition, $500,000 would be dedicated toward early capacity-building efforts for existing and new nonprofit homeless services providers and contract management staff, in expectation of the need to substantially scale up service capacity over the next two to three years, according to the memo.
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