A little more than a week after the Sparks City Council approved the second reading of an ordinance prohibiting “human habitation” in vehicles, Washoe County’s Board of County Commissioners on Tuesday approved the first reading of a similar ordinance.
Washoe County’s ordinance bans camping on county-owned property or public places, including within 1,000 feet of the Truckee River, as well as living in vehicles or RVs on public or county property. Other provisions in the ordinance prohibit obstructing sidewalks, roads and other right of ways, and using any outdoor fires or portable open flame devices “in an unsafe manner.” Violations would result in a misdemeanor charge.
Commissioners in December 2022 approved for county staff to move forward with updating county ordinances to penalize unauthorized camping on county property. Sheriff Darin Balaam said then that punishing people via the ordinance—with a $500 fine and up to six months in jail—wasn’t the goal.
“We are not going out to cite somebody who is camping in their car,” Balaam said at that meeting. “We … try and get them into proper, safe shelter for them and the neighborhood.”
Since then, Washoe County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Corey Solferino said his office has worked with people throughout the community to gather feedback and discuss how this ordinance would be implemented and enforced.
He told commissioners on Tuesday that the ordinance was intended to push people living unhoused or in their cars toward using resources and services available to them, such as local shelters or treatment programs.
He added that it aligns the county’s laws with those on the books in Sparks and Reno.
“What we have seen as a result of that is displacement,” he said, “We have seen the growing population of our unhoused population and vulnerable persons pushing outside of the Reno-Sparks corridor into what you have been told is the ‘end of the world camp.’”
As people living unhoused move outside city limits to avoid arrest, they move further away from resources and support, Solferino said.
“I do not believe that three people in under three years is enough of an effort by the Sheriff’s department to justify the need for criminalization”
“We cannot arrest our way out of this problem; that’s not what we are here today presenting,” Solferino said. “What we want to do is push people toward resources, which ultimately end in housing and getting them in a program and into a long-term solution. But there are certain rules of society, public health and public decency we have to do to get there, and that’s what we’re asking for.”
Solferino said leveraging the ordinance to arrest people would be used as a last resort for those who resist accepting services and resources to help them get out of homelessness. He said collaboration between jurisdictions, existing programs such as the jail’s medication assisted treatment program, and outreach by WCSO’s Homeless Outreach Proactive Engagement (HOPE) Team and the regional Mobile Outreach Safety Team (MOST) Team are all being leveraged to help those who are unhoused.
Homeless advocates opposed
A number of people providing public comment Tuesday said the ordinance was vague and gave WCSO broad authority to cite people for what some may consider everyday activities.
“A lot of this language is loose and can be applicable to anybody up to the discretion of the Sheriff’s Office,” Aspen Murillo said during public comment.
She called out portions of the ordinance that could be broadly applied, including the prohibition on having sleeping materials such as blankets or sleeping bags in one’s car.
Another portion of the ordinance appears to make hailing a taxi, waiting for a bus, or flagging down a motorist when one’s car has run out of gas as potentially a misdemeanor crime. The ordinance states, “It shall be unlawful for any person to stand in or within fifteen (15) feet of a public street or highway for the purpose of soliciting a ride or any business from the driver or any occupant of a vehicle.”
Others providing public comment suggested the county should focus more on funding for additional resources and services, including bridge housing, mental health and substance abuse treatment facilities.
Patrick Coleman, who said he lived and owns a business along Fourth Street, spoke in support of the ordinance, but only because the situation has become dangerous for him and his neighbors. He said he represented 40 businesses on Fourth and Sixth streets.
“In terms of the ban and the ordinance, the real failure is within the county and the neighboring cities of Sparks and Reno to not provide services to the people who are in need,” he said. “We need to expand our services, get people into an environment where they can get the mental health care and addiction treatment that they need.”
Jonathan McNeill said he met with WCSO and a member of the HOPE Team in January while participating in the Washoe County Leadership Academy. During that meeting, he said deputies “touted substantial numbers of individuals assisted and housed” and expressed pride that they didn’t cite or arrest unhoused people whom they encountered.
“In under three years, with minimal expertise and resources, this team was able to successfully pilot a program for people that legitimately helps people dealing with homelessness,” he said. “And now we’re learning that instead of providing more funding and resources to expand a proven and existing program, the Washoe County Sheriff’s Office wants to make it a crime to be trapped in a cycle of homelessness perpetuated by a stigma and a lack of affordable housing, community mental health resources … and other social safety nets.
“I do not believe that three people in under three years is enough of an effort by the Sheriff’s department to justify the need for criminalization,” McNeill added.
Commission Chair Alexis Hill also asked why an ordinance was required when “this incredible work” was already being done by WCSO.
Solferino said the ordinance is intended to be a deterrent and a pathway into community court where individuals are connected with case managers and others who can assist them in getting back on their feet. Those who don’t follow through with using those services can be sentenced to community service rather than jail.
“Seems like we have a lot of tools already in the toolbox for law enforcement,” Commissioner Mike Clark said. He pointed to many other ordinances banning public intoxication, littering or urination in public, and he questioned why those weren’t sufficient to address some of the issues the county is dealing with.
Many of those laws, however, require the actions to be witnessed, which often doesn’t happen, Solferino explained. “We need one that’s enforceable when our law enforcement officers are there conducting outreach … not because 12 hours ago they saw somebody urinating on the side of the Truckee River.”
Commissioner Mariluz Garcia said constituents in her area wanted this ordinance but added that she wanted to see the language cleaned up in some areas. She pointed to potential duplication of other ordinances, imprecise language like “unsafe manner,” and inconsistencies. She also wanted to see some of the WCSO’s standard operating procedures added to the ordinance to ensure that should there be a change of leadership, policies related to the ordinance are maintained.
A public hearing on the ordinance and possible adoption will be scheduled before the commission as early as March 12.
