No Camping Ordinance Mirrors Valley's Restrictions

Boulder City was in the news recently as KVVU Fox 5 News highlighted camping bans in Clark County. You'll find their story HERE. We were already working on bringing our readers more information on this important issue, and our story appears below.

In May, the City Council voted to enact Ordinance 1862 (found HERE) to prohibit camping and storing personal property within the corporate boundaries of Boulder City without a permit from the city. This ordinance took effect in June. On the surface, this may not seem terribly significant, but the City is the largest municipal landowner in the state with more than 208 square miles of land area. Of course, most of that is uninhabited desert, but the no camping ordinance applies to the actual townsite itself as well.

Homelessness is an ongoing issue that is difficult to solve. Thousands of people in this country are currently unhoused, and states on the west coast are seeing their homeless populations continually increase. Nevada is no different and neither is Boulder City. Some of the homeless people here in our town are previously housed residents who have fallen on hard times. Others come here from elsewhere in Clark County because they've heard that the city is relatively safe for them, as opposed to "over the hill."

These issues present a dilemma to residents. Many spoke in favor of the ordinance in May because local parks and businesses were being impacted. We previously wrote about the situation HERE. At that time, law enforcement were basically unable to do much about the problem, due to Ninth Circuit Court rulings. In 2023 the City and Boulder City Hospital teamed up to hire a Community Resource Liaison, Jennifer Hedland, to assist with housing and food security issues. Emergency Aid also assists by providing a fully stocked food bank and other resources for those who need them. There is also a list of local and Clark County resources available on the City's website HERE. Some residents expressed concern for the homeless individuals, given the increasing outdoor temperatures, and the distance to one of the two cooling centers available, namely the Boulder City Library.

The purpose of the no camping ordinance was not to criminalize homelessness. In fact, in most cases, officers will not issue citations even after numerous contacts with someone who may be in need of help. Instead, the ordinance provides a mechanism by which law enforcement or other City staff can connect the homeless with the resources they need, including putting them in contact with the Community Resource Liaison, Jennifer Hedland. As of this publication date, no citations have been issued by Boulder City Police Department.

There has been some confusion on the part of residents who observe potential violations of the camping ordinance. Some residents have taken to the City's code enforcement program, SeeClickFix, for reporting purposes. But this isn't a code enforcement issue. If a resident suspects that the regulation is being broken, they are advised to call 311 (non emergency) or 911 (for emergency situations only) and give the dispatcher detailed information so that contact can be made by a trained first responder. Officers will be sent as quickly as possible given the other call priorities at that time.

The ordinance's purpose is twofold:

A. To provide for the regulation of uses and conduct in the City's parks, recreation areas and other public areas for the health, safety and general welfare of the public.

B. The acts of camping, sleeping, laying down, or storing, maintaining, or placing personal property in public areas that interferes with the primary purposes of those public areas threatens the public health safety and welfare of the public. It is the obligation of the City to keep its public areas and other paths within the city clean and available for public use and to protect the public health safety, and access for all citizens.

Special permits can be issued by the appropriate City department for extraordinary circumstances and also upon request, if the request meets the terms and scope of Ordinance 1862. People will not be prohibited from sleeping, as long as they are within the specifications of the regulations. For example, a person may not sleep on playground equipment because it would interfere with another's enjoyment of the equipment.

Storage of personal property on public property is also prohibited. A written notice will be given to the purported owner of the personal property and they will have 24 hours to remove the property from that location. After the 24 hours has expired, and the property remains, it shall be impounded and stored for up to thirty days before being disposed of. Personal property includes tents, bicycles, clothing, and other items that impede the use of the park or public land.

Boulder City residents should be aware that homelessness continues to be a societal problem requiring complex solutions to address and it's not a crime to be homeless. Boulder City staff works on many levels – funding our Community Resource Liaison Jennifer Hedland, with Emergency Aid, and with the Nevada Division of Welfare and Supportive Services – to keep residents from becoming unhoused through programs such as utility bill and rent/mortgage assistance.Homelessness requires broad action by many government jurisdictions and community partnerships to provide the needed services to unhoused people. We hope this summary has been helpful to better explain the ordinance and how residents can help respond to this issue correctly here in town.