Noting the ongoing work to clear criminals and homeless residents from streets in the Rio Grande neighborhood of downtown Salt Lake City, Utah County’s top law enforcement official says his deputies need the power to clear campers after a day.
“It has become a nightmare up there. And that‘s what will happen there.”<br>— Utah County Sheriff Jim Tracy
During a presentation that received a cool reception from at least one county commissioner, Sheriff Jim Tracy’s office asked for a ban on camping on county property for more than a day per week. The office also suggested prohibiting camping “on any public property within the limits of an incorporated City” in the county without written approval of the County Commission.
Tracy’s office asked for the change, the sheriff said, because he’s afraid his county will turn into Salt Lake, which has launched a massive effort to expand law enforcement activity and services in the Rio Grande neighborhood around the state’s largest homeless shelter.
Tracy said leaders “up there [failed] to actively address this in the beginning. And it has become a nightmare up there. And that’s what will happen here.”
During a work session with county commissioners on Tuesday, representatives from the sheriff’s office and county attorney’s office said longterm campers were ruining experiences for others and harming the land.
“It’s rampant in drug use,” Tracy said. “It’s rampant in unsanitary conditions, and it’s not what you and Forest Service and other people have put into county rules and the federal rules for the usage.”
The proposal is still in draft form — which the county attorney refused to release to The Salt Lake Tribune, citing a “personal use” exemption to the state open-records law. It’s at least the second ordinance proposed in Utah County targeted at homeless residents. Provo in February moved to define and ban camping in the city.
But county commissioners said they were hesitant to consider just a camping ordinance, as the county is grappling with how to deliver services to a homeless population its leaders say is growing.
Commissioner Greg Graves said on Thursday that he’s “not in favor of” the draft presented to the commission this week.
“In my opinion, they are mixing up a whole bunch of issues,” he said.
Police can already arrest people for drug possession or other crimes that Tracy said are rampant in the community, Graves said.
“Let’s talk about what the real issue is,” Graves said. “We know we have a homeless problem. We know that we have open beds at our Food and Care Coalition currently. Not that we have enough to take care of the issue currently. We’re having that” discussion.
Commission Chairman Bill Lee said he, too, wanted to look at the entire situation that might be leading to longterm camping in the county’s canyons.
“This issue is way bigger than just law enforcement,” Lee said. “It’s got mental health, it’s got substance abuse, it’s got homelessness.”
Carl Hollan, a deputy Utah County attorney, argued in favor of creating such an ordinance because, he said, there’s no clear way otherwise for law enforcement to remove longterm campsites.
“We just don’t see any legitimate use of camping on public property without a permit from the county beforehand,” Hollan said.
The commissioners planned to meet Friday with sheriff’s representatives to discuss how to move forward. Graves said he’d like to ensure conversations are wide ranging.
“I’m not willing to have a conversation where we take something that’s legal and we make it illegal so they can remove people,” Graves said.
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