AURORA | The Aurora City Council is pushing forward changes to its homeless camping laws, aligning it with a recent Supreme Court decision that allows cities to oust campers without notice or providing shelter.
Aurora’s current homeless laws require the city to provide at least 72 hours notice before clearing encampments, and expulsions can only be carried out if there is emergency shelter space available.
The city’s legal advisors said the 2024 Johnson v Grants Pass Supreme Court ruling permits the changes in Aurora, and across the country.
“We will continue to provide shelter options,” said Jessica Prosser, director of Housing and Community Services.
The proposed change follows a comprehensive reworking of the city’s homeless program, which boasts a $67 million Navigation Center, expected to open in late 2025.
Aurora is moving toward what Mayor Mike Coffman refers to as a “work-first” approach to offering services. While the city will offer long-term housing options to homeless people, they must enter work, job-training and addiction recovery programs to qualify. Details of what constitutes compliance for services have not yet been decided, according to city officials.
Some council critics insist that “housing first” programs are more effective at reducing homelessness, pointing to recent government studies indicating that.
Changes proposed by city lawmakers this week focus on how Aurora will be permitted to clear homeless campers from public property.
Councilmember Steve Sundberg said expelling campers, and even threatening arrest, makes more sense because the city has regularly offered shelter to homeless people, who refuse it.
“We want those people on the streets to accept services and shelter,” Sundberg said. “We want people to accept help, but we are finding that in most cases, they refuse.”
The proposal has sparked debate about homelessness, public safety and the humane treatment of vulnerable populations.
Councilmember Alison Coombs was critical about removing requirements for providing shelter and offering 72-hour notice before expelling campers on public property.
The proposed change in law can make camping on public property and refusing to move a trespassing violation. Coombs said. “Our general penalty clause could result in up to 364 days in jail and a maximum fine — this creates a very different impact on those affected.”
“The majority of homeless people have jobs,” Coombs said. “We’re not going to get them into a work-first situation if they lose their job because we’re putting them in jail.”
City Attorney Pete Schulte said he agreed with Coombs that it subjects people who refuse to leave to be arrested for criminal trespass.
“I don’t know if anybody is getting anywhere close to 364 days on a trespass case,” Schulte said. “But I’ll tell you, under the Supreme Court case, they consider any misdemeanor level OK. Under Grants Pass, anything under 365 days is considered a misdemeanor.”
Homelessness activists say it’s unclear how many homeless people are incarcerated in the metro area.
Cathay Alderman, chief communications officer for the Colorado Coalition of the Homeless, said that they don’t track homeless people who are incarcerated.
“There was a time when Denver University was tracking that data (see report here), but I don’t know that they have done anything since 2018-2019,” Alderman said in an email.
Homelessness activists and homeless people themselves say they do not like to go to aggregate shelters because of safety and sanitation issues, along with many other reasons.
“We do see some people accept services, especially when we have high-quality shelter options,” Prosser said. “People love going to the pallet shelter.”
Although Aurora’s pallet shelters recently closed, the city has been working on temporary services and housing until the Regional Navigation Center opens in late 2025. The Aurora Day Center is currently operating but does not offer overnight services.
Starting Jan. 21, Prosser said the city will temporarily use the Regional Navigation Campus — the city’s one-stop shop for homelessness — for overnight shelter options until spring. The center itself, however, is still under construction, but the city has been offering bus transit in and out of the campus during periods of extreme cold weather.
During the meeting, Councilmember Crystal Murillo also questioned whether lending more police “capacity” for homelessness while there are other, more serious crimes to focus on.
“We are constantly hearing that we have a shortage of police officers in the department,” Murillo said.
Aurora’s chief of police, Todd Chamberlain, said that as of November, the city had conducted 106 abatements, housed 43 people and made four arrests linked to camping violations.
“We’re navigating the staffing challenges well and adding two more homeless outreach officers this spring,” Chamberlain said in response to Murillo.
The Aurora Police Department is adding homeless outreach officers to their Police Area Representative units (PAR). Sydney Edwards, Public Information Officer, said they expect to have them start in April.
“We currently have two officers that work specifically as Homeless Outreach Officers, so by April, we will have four, Edwards said in an email. “Our PAR units also respond to homeless situations and we have roughly six officers per district assigned to PAR.”
Councilmember Angela Lawson said her constituents have been urging the city to clear homeless camps faster, describing drug use, violence and other safety issues near encampments near the I-225 and Parker Road area.
Prosser also said that not requiring 72-hour notice for expelling campers would provide the city with flexibility in addressing encampments, particularly in high-complaint areas.
Despite objections from council members Coombs, Murillo and Ruben Medina, the city council approved moving the ordinance changes to the council floor for a final decision at a future meeting.
….Some council critics insist that “housing first” programs are more effective at reducing homelessness, pointing to recent government studies indicating that….
What??? The conservatives on the council don’t need no stinking facts!
Two things. “ The majority of homeless people have jobs,” Coombs said. “We’re not going to get them into a work-first situation if they lose their job because we’re putting them in jail.” This is highly doubtful. Perhaps we’re including that portion of the homeless demographic that own cars they’re living out of. Sure… that’s homeless and tragically so, especially as children are included. But different than “camping” — the blight that most concerns and drives these laws and abatements.
Second… public storage. In short there no law or privilege allowing the storage of anyone’s stuff on public roads, sidewalks, underpasses, parks, spillways… Just the seize the crappy eyesores and send to the dump… IE have waste management stop by, turn on their hazards and pick up the trash. Again no one has a right to leaving their property in these places.
Perhaps Council Woman Coombs and her fellow homeless advocates should open up their homes for these people to get shelter. Oh wait, they’re pure hypocrites and they want the rest of us to pay for managing this mess.
Anyone who is living on the street should be arrested for, if nothing else, littering. The homeless camps are disgusting. Just look at all the trash that has accumulated around the perimeter of Cherry Creek State Park along I-225 and Parker Road. Most people can’t even see the human waste that is left were these people camp. How can they not be arrested purely for the trash they accumulate around them? I’d be happy to use my tax dollars to pay for them all to have a one-way bus ticket to San Francisco or Sacramento, where they’ll be welcomed with open arms.
Its long overdue to start tackling Aurora’s homeless issue. These people need to be held accountable. No one believes that most of these people are employed. They are burdens on the community. Time to establish education/work camps outside the city that include a drug rehab program. You don’t get to choose to be a lazy piece of garbage and force society to care for you. You’re going to contribute or you’re going to prison. Period.
I’m homeless in Aurora. Three plus years had a job the whole time. I have storage I pay for every month to keep my stuff out of my car. Housing is too expensive and too hard to find we need help with proper housing. And yeah I know most of her homeless trash drug addict and worse help comes with strings otherwise enjoy freezing to death. You guys with city jobs and good paying jobs don’t know what it’s like you were out of touch with the problems I have. I’m almost 60 how many 18-hour days in a row am I supposed to work so I can have a crappy apartment?
What happened from age 18 – 60 that you now have no home, no family, and no savings? Do you have a disability? Or a string of bad luck? Or a lifetime of poor choices? Help me understand how you got to the point you are now homeless in Aurora.