KYLE, Texas — The City of Austin's camping bill has garnered its fair share of attention. Now, another city is looking at banning camping – but they're hoping it's more of a preventative measure.
It's a sensitive topic that could lead to changes in the City of Kyle.
"I realized the City of Kyle is in a good position to be proactive regarding both campers and beggars," Councilmember Yvonne Flores-Cale said.
Cale directed City staff to create an anti-camping ordinance.
"You know, we all kind of saw what Austin went through, and so although it's coming up now, this is something I've been working on for a few weeks," Flores-Cale said.
She said Kyle doesn't have an issue with camping right now, but she and others on the council hope they can be proactive and stop it before it happens.
"With the amount of displacement that could take place in Austin, might as well figure out what our position is going to be," said Mayor Travis Mitchell during the city council meeting last Tuesday.
"That's the beauty of it: we don't have to worry about re-homing people or relocating people, we just have to worry about maintaining from here on out," Flores-Cale said. "I really hope the people can see that there's a difference between homelessness and camping."
City staff expects the ordinance to be ready for the next city council meeting in June, as they're hoping to address this sensitive topic soon.
"It's not about good or bad, heartless or mean," Flores-Cale said. "It's just about protecting our city and making sure we stay the way we are."
A bill that would create a statewide camping ban is still going through the legislature now. City leaders in Kyle said they want to create their own ordinance in case that bill doesn't become law.
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