After heated debate among Aurora City Council members in Monday night’s meeting, the council passed a resolution requiring a 72-hour notice before homeless encampment abatements.

The resolution, brought forward by councilmember Rob Andrews, was approved to move forward in a recent study session, during which several of the council’s conservative members called it a “slow repeal” of camping laws put in place by the previous council.

In February 2025, Aurora lawmakers got rid of requirements to provide shelter options and a 72-hour notice before sweeps.

The 2025 decision followed a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that the Eighth Amendment’s cruel and unusual punishment clause does not prohibit the enforcement of a rule prohibiting camping on public property, according to the language of the ordinance.

Councilmember Andrews’ resolution would add the notice back. However, the notice is already a practice for homeless abatement officials, City Manager Jason Batchelor said. The resolution would simply inform people of that practice.

If the encampment presents an imminent public health or safety risk or is on CDOT property, the notice is not required, according to the proposed resolution.

Councilmembers Francoise Bergan, Angela Lawson, Curtis Gardner and Stephanie Hancock voted against the resolution Monday.

“It’s like whack-a-mole,” Bergan said. “I hear from residents and businesses all the time that they appreciate the fact that we put in a camping ban and that we do abate those encampments … I think this is going to harm neighborhoods, parks and businesses.”

Hancock echoed that she has heard positive feedback on the camping ban from residents, and said the 72-hour notice requirement goes against what residents want.

“It weakens enforcement, it creates uncertainty and it moves us away from the balanced approach that Aurora has worked hard to implement, one that prioritizes safety, accountability and real pathways to recovery,” Hancock said. “I am not in favor at all of this resolution.”

Councilmember Amy Wiles said the resolution is just “honesty” about how long it takes for homeless officials to clear encampments.

Wiles and Mayor Pro-Tem Alison Coombs said a 72-hour notice is humane, giving people the opportunity to gather their important documents and other personal items.

“That 72 hours gives them time to gather their personal belongings to take with them to the navigation center so they don’t start out at a negative,” Wiles said in a recent study session.

Mayor Pro Tem Alison Coombs agreed and added Monday that not providing a notice to people is “cruel.”

“What it proves when we are laying everything on the line to oppose this 72-hour notice is that the cruelty was always the point, that we want to be able to treat people cruelly and inhumanely,” Coombs said. “That is a problem and I don’t stand behind that.”

Also Monday night in a study session, councilmembers approved a Stage I Water Shortage to move forward to an official vote at a regular council meeting April 6.

With snowpack in the 2025-26 season well below average and temperatures reaching record highs, Aurora Water recommended passing the shortage, which would enact water restrictions starting April 7 if it passes in the meeting.

Enacting the Stage I Water Shortage means the city will implement a mandatory two-day per week watering limitation and a reduction in watering variance allowances for irrigation.

Normal restrictions allow for three days each week of residential outdoor turf irrigation, according to the city’s Water Shortage Response Plan.

Under Stage I, new turf installation and use of water features are not allowed, but water uses such as car washing and new tree installations are allowed. Private pools cannot be filled, but public pools can.

The goal, officials said, is to decrease outdoor water use across the city by 20%.

Marshall Brown, general manager of Aurora Water, called the water supply situation “dire.”

Aurora’s reservoirs are 58% full, which accounts for about one and a half years of usable water, he said, showing councilmembers a photo of Spinney Mountain Reservoir, Aurora’s main water storage asset, at less than half full.

Snowpack for areas where Aurora gets water sits about 49% of the average this year, he said.

“That’s bad,” Brown said. “Staff predict we’ll have about one-third of our typical water supply this year.”

Aurora Water is also cracking down on enforcement, using automated metering infrastructure to tell exactly how much water people are using.

A first violation is a fee-free warning. After the warning, a second violation comes with a $125 fee for single-family customers and a $250 fee for multi-family, commercial and irrigation customers. A third violation comes with a $250 fee for single-family customers and $1,000 for others, and additional violations are a $500 fee for single-family customers and $2,000 fee for others.

“I will note we are already getting letters from some of our customers telling us they heard this is coming and they don’t care what we tell them, they are not going to reduce their watering,” Brown said. “It could be an interesting year for us.”