Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman announced Monday that he plans to introduce an ordinance to the City Council this week that would ban camping within the city.

The ordinance, to be introduced Thursday, would attempt to address the city’s growing homeless population, similar to Denver’s urban camping ban passed in 2012. Coffman said the ordinance is already drafted but he will work on edits prior to its introduction.

“I want to work with our city attorney’s office to make sure the proposed camping ban is compliant with the CDC guidelines,” Coffman said. “I also want to make sure the proposed camping ban meets the conditions spelled out in court decisions where camping bans have been challenged and were upheld.”

This announcement came as a surprise for many City Council members as, just last week, city officials announced outreach efforts to gather community input on how Aurora should address homelessness.

The city is hosting an open house Wednesday to present residents with various alternative sheltering options including pallet homes, tiny homes, safe camping sites, safe parking sites and a shower and restroom trailer. Residents were invited to submit feedback on the sheltering options through May 31.

Councilwoman Nicole Johnston, chair of the Housing Redevelopment and Neighborhood Services Committee, said the timing of Coffman’s proposal undermines the city’s public outreach efforts.

“I don’t understand the mayor introducing an urban camping ban ordinance before the community open house,” Johnston said. “The purpose of the open house and Engage Aurora’s online system is to receive feedback from the community and look at evidence-based policies before proceeding with policy.”

Johnston said she will be attending the open house and researching outreach results before “jumping on Mayor Coffman’s latest attempt of claiming he knows what is best for people experiencing homelessness and our community.”

Councilman Curtis Gardner said he wants to know how the city would pay for enforcement for the camping ban and what resources exist for the people currently living in unsanctioned homeless encampments.

“A camping ban, by itself, isn’t a solution to all homelessness — if it was, we would see the results of that in other cities,” Gardner said. “We need to address veterans’ issues, drug abuse, economic distress, mental health and more. I hope we can have a robust conversation around all these issues.”

Council members Alison Coombs and Juan Marcano also expressed concern for the ordinance via Twitter, with Coombs calling it “inhumane and ineffective” and Marcano saying camping bans are generally “costly, ineffective, and a waste of law enforcement’s time.”

After it is introduced in committee Thursday, committee members will be able to recommend amendments before the ordinance goes to study session to be discussed by the full council. Finally, it would be voted on in a formal City Council meeting.

If it makes it to a formal vote, Coffman’s ordinance will need support from at least five of the 10 City Council members. As mayor, Coffman does not vote on ordinances except as a tiebreaker. 

“The mayor is once again out of his lane,” Johnston said. “The City Council sets policy direction, not the mayor. He is supposed to be an ambassador of the city not someone who introduces legislation where he can’t even vote.”

Councilman Dave Gruber said he would not express support or opposition for the ordinance until he can formally discuss and modify it on council; however, he said action is necessary.

“The number of unauthorized camps are growing in Aurora,” Gruber said. “Many of the people in the camps have chosen not to obtain help from nonprofits or governments because of the rules they impose on the campers. Our residents are demanding council and the city find a way to deal with this issue.”

In the most recent count from 2020, there were 427 homeless residents in Aurora. Of those, 61 were unsheltered and living in spaces like unauthorized encampments.

In 2020, the number of Aurora residents experiencing homelessness was up from 389 in 2019 and has undoubtedly increased since the count was conducted. For reference, in Denver, there were 4,171 homeless residents in 2020, according to the count.

Camping is banned in Denver; however, large encampments regularly form throughout the city. This has led to frequent homeless sweeps in which camps are broken up, fenced off and residents are forced to move.

These sweeps have been especially controversial in the last year as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended that cities stop sweeps during the COVID-19 pandemic to avoid spreading the disease. Denver’s continuation of the sweeps has prompted an ongoing lawsuit.

Coffman acknowledged in January that Denver’s camping ban hasn’t been effective, when he said he was halting work toward establishing a citywide camping ban because he needed to “better understand what its impact will be on Aurora.”

“I think the question that I have to answer is whether or not a camping ban actually aggravates the problem,” Coffman said in January. “Denver has a camping ban and it has a significant encampment problem while Aurora does not have a camping ban and only has a modest problem.”

In January, Denver City Council member Candi CdeBaca said each sweep costs the city of Denver around $10,000 to conduct.

“All a camping ban means is that campers have to go deeper into hiding away from enforcement into neighborhoods and places farthest from services,” CdeBaca said via Twitter in response to Coffman’s proposal announcement.

This ordinance proposal also comes after Coffman posed as homeless in Aurora and Denver for seven days in December, receiving intense backlash after stating that those who stay in encampments are making a “lifestyle choice.”