MISSOULA, Mont. — A Missoula City Council committee is mulling a change to city policy that would explicitly ban removing homeless camps during extreme weather.
The proposal would prohibit removing homeless camps when it is above 100 or below 32 degrees. Ward 6 council member Kristen Jordan brought it forward Wednesday to the Public Safety, Health and Operations Committee.
Jordan’s motion would also ban removal if the temperature remained above 100 degrees or below 32 degrees within eight hours “after anticipated completion of the removal.” The only exception under this policy would be if Missoula’s mayor and director of public health said in writing that the health risk the shelter is causing is greater than the threat of exposure to the weather conditions.
Mayor Andrea Davis urged the committee to table the proposal, citing the ongoing urban camping working group. Davis wrote that it is city practice to not do cleanups when the weather causes an additional hardship on homeless individuals.
Ward 3 council member Gwen Jones described the current cleanup protocol as “thoughtful” and “a very careful approach.”
“I understand this is something that is important to a lot of people,” Jones said. “But we also have a bigger process that we’re working through, trying to figure out holistically, as a community, how we’re going to address homeless issues in Missoula.”
Jones said the proposal is already being addressed by city administration. However, Jordan highlighted several cleanups that she said “would have potentially conflicted with this policy,” referring to the standards set forth in her proposal.
The committee is expected to discuss the possible ban further once there is an official draft resolution or ordinance change.
