While Aurora’s camping ban is now technically in effect, the city can’t enforce it until it adopts a policy for storing personal items, a provision outlined in an amendment to the original ordinance.

City staffers are also looking at renovations to the Aurora Day Resource Center to provide additional shelter, which they identified as a key step to enforcing the new policy.

Aurora camping ban will take effect by end of April

Aurora City Council discussed its options at its study session Monday night, with most of the discussion around renovating the Aurora Day Resource Center to include beds and places for storage. City staff estimated the renovations to make the center a 24/7 operation would cost just over $2.6 million and would be ready for use by August 2024.

Jessica Prosser, Aurora Director of Housing and Community Services, said the city is still abating camps based on its existing contracts around health and safety concerns, but a new contract will be coming to council soon to approve additional abatement services. Prosser also said in order to fully implement the ban, she needs additional staff in her department, and so would the resources center, should it become operational 24/7.

Prosser said enforcing the camping ban will cost the city $2.2 million annually: $685,000 for abating camps through contractors, $295,000 for outreach – which Prosser said will also require additional staffing – $279,500 for storage, and $700,000 to maintain 24/7 operations at the ADRC.

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Assistant City Attorney Tim Joyce said he believes he has received enough direction to write a policy around storage of personal items, with plans to hold onto items, such as important personal documents, for up to a year with the ADRC. Prosser also said she is working with the city’s legal department to determine changes needed in its Business Policy Memorandums (BPM) around abatement contracts.

Prosser said that, following conversations Mayor Mike Coffman held with state leadership and the Colorado Department of Transportation, the city is now able to abate camps on CDOT rights-of-way with 72 hours notice, as opposed to seven days, for consistency across the whole city. CDOT will also help Aurora fund the abatements on its properties.

A city spokesperson said an updated BPM also needs to be completed and signed by the city manager before the city could start enforcing the new policy, because the current one is only for abating camps due to health concerns.

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