Elkhart City Common Council votes on homeless property on public space

ELKHART, Ind. - After the Elkhart City Common Council has repeatedly "tabled" the discussion, tonight a decision has been made. 

Elkhart's proposed ordinance 23-O-17, allowing Elkhart police to clear out private property left in public spaces, has failed with the final vote 5-4. 

The ordinance was developed to address makeshift beds and campsites left on city property.

Some, like Bradley Tracy, Chief of Staff for Elkhart's Mayor's Office, argued that making it illegal to store these items on public property would connect the homeless population with other resources and get them out of public parks. 

Others, like Aaron Mishler, Elkhart Common Councilmember, criticized the ordinance in public comment saying it won't solve the problem. 

"If the intent of this ordinance is to create an incentive for people to go to the Faith Mission, to take into services, they always say you get more with honey and vinegar, and this is a lot of vinegar right here that I don't think our community needs," said Mishler. 

Elkhart is not the first to try to solve homelessness encampment issues by creating an ordinance; they can look to San Antonio, Texas as an example or cautionary tale. 

In San Antonio, advocates are making an increased effort, with more city money on their side, to relocate homeless residents to a shelter. 

Homeless encampment residents are given two weeks to move their things before crews move it for them. 

In Portland, Oregon, the opposite is happening; a coalition is filing a claim on behalf of the homeless, stating that the law to ban encampments isn't clear. 

Their ordinance bans encampments from 250 feet from an "environmental overlay zone," but residents aren't clear on what that is. 

The lawsuit claims the homeless don't have access to Internet to find an "environmental overlay zone." 

A primary reason why Elkhart's ordinance didn't pass is because council members couldn't agree on specific language.

They also couldn't decide if an ordinance like this is even needed. 

Council members debated for over an hour, with end result siding with those against the ordinance. 

There's one way this discussion can be brought back to the council: over 50 percent of it must be rewritten.