What’s changed?
The city’s current civility ordinance states that individuals cannot sit, lie down or leave any item of bedding material on a sidewalk between the hours of 7 a.m. and 11 p.m.
Larry Satterwhite, director of the city’s Public Safety and Homeland Security, said during a July 9 meeting that individuals who sleep in public spaces are left vulnerable to weather and crime.
“During the freeze, we saw people rolled up in less than a blanket on our streets, and we all see it every day,” Satterwhite said. “A lot of people are dying every year on the streets in our city and across the nation due to street homelessness, so we really want to correct this.”
With the approved change, the ordinance has expanded to ban sleeping and lying down on streets 24/7, starting with the downtown and East End areas, Satterwhite said. The city wants to start with the downtown area because it's historically a concentrated area, a hub for homeless individuals and a part of the city where there are enough resources to offer, he said.
“Right now, we do not have enough resources and we don’t have enough beds to go anywhere beyond that,” Satterwhite said. “We don't want to work in an area that we don't have resources and a bed to offer, because we know that if we do, ultimately, that will cause displacement and other people will get impacted.”
Satterwhite said this change is not criminalizing homelessness, but a way for the city and police officers to find people and offer them beds, shelter and resources.
“What we absolutely want to make sure that we’re avoiding at all costs is displacement,” Satterwhite said. “Meaning that what we don’t want to do is go into an area and go in and move people out of it. All that we’re doing is offering help and then telling them that the behavior engaged in, you can't do.”
Zooming in
The expansion of the civility ordinance is part of the city’s efforts to combat homelessness through a $70 million initiative. This initiative plans to increase rapid rehousing, which is the process of finding short-term rental assistance and services to help people obtain housing quickly, according to previous Community Impact reporting.
According to a 2024 survey by the Coalition for the Homeless of Houston/Harris County, there are 1,046 unsheltered individuals in Harris County as of 2024. Satterwhite said there are an estimated 200 to 250 homeless individuals in the downtown area.
What they’re saying
The ordinance change was approved 14-2, with council members Abbie Kamin and Tarsha Jackson voting no, and council member Willie Davis absent.
Kamin said she is concerned this change would push the downtown homeless population to other parts of the city, and noted the consequences homeless people would face if they don’t comply with the ordinance. Satterwhite said individuals who don’t comply would face a Class C misdemeanor and a maximum fine of $500.
“$500 to somebody that’s already living on the street is major,” Kamin said.
However, Whitmire said he believes this change will motivate people to get off the street.
“No one’s going to be taken off the streets unless there’s a bed and a plan to get them mental health services,” Whitmire said. “The alternative is to let them die on the streets, as they have been for years.”
Council member Twila Carter said this ordinance will help prevent people from dying while sleeping or lying on public streets.
“The next help you will give them is to take their body to the morgue, and that’s what we’re addressing,” Carter said. “It’s not about snatching people off the street.”
Council member Joaquin Martinez, whose district covers downtown and East End, said he supports the change as the East End often sees homeless individuals staying in the area.
“This is not criminalizing homelessness, this is really trying to identify ways to now reach the hardest to house,” Martinez said. “This is what we need right now. We need to find them an opportunity to get into a bed.”
