{"id":683426,"date":"2026-06-04T07:10:11","date_gmt":"2026-06-04T07:10:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/683426\/"},"modified":"2026-06-04T07:10:11","modified_gmt":"2026-06-04T07:10:11","slug":"breaking-news-grand-junction-city-council-votes-5-2-on-camping-ordinance-change","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/683426\/","title":{"rendered":"BREAKING NEWS: Grand Junction City Council votes 5-2 on camping ordinance change"},"content":{"rendered":"

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (KJCT) – After hours of council discussion and public comment, the Grand Junction City Council voted 5-2 on an ordinance amending a law that prohibited the enforcement of camping on public property when no overnight shelter is available<\/a>. <\/p>\n

The ordinance proposed a change to an existing city law enacted in April 2019 that prohibited camping on public property. That ordinance included certain exceptions: if there were no available overnight shelters, police could not enforce the law. This change removes that exception.<\/p>\n

The change is prompted by the U.S. Supreme Court\u2019s decision in 2024. According to the City of Grand Junction\u2019s Staff Report for this agenda item, \u201cthe US Supreme Court held that there was no constitutional right to camp on public property regardless of whether there was available overnight shelter or not.<\/p>\n

Dozens of Grand Valley residents lined up for public comment Wedensday evening as the council considered adjusting the city\u2019s law.<\/p>\n

During the initial presentation, Chief of Police Matt Smith raised concerns over environmental and public safety for residents and the unhoused. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I would share with you is I\u2019m not advocating one way or the other, I\u2019m expressing a public safety concern that I have,\u201d said Smith. \u201cIf there\u2019s a fire down there and they\u2019re in a wheelchair, that\u2019s gonna be a real big problem.\u201d<\/p>\n

Residents shared their concerns about the change as it relates to the unhoused population.<\/p>\n

\u201cI believe that it\u2019s immoral to enact, to make effect laws that are unjustly target our friends and neighbors who are living without housing in the community,\u201d said Reverend Nicole Campbell, a Deacon for the Episcopal Church of Colorado.<\/p>\n

An unhoused resident spoke during public comment. \u201cI have a rake and I go around and I rake and I rake and I clean. I\u2019ve picked up other people\u2019s trash just to show you guys that we are not all dirty people.\u201d<\/p>\n

Others spoke in support of the change, advocating for the protection of public spaces.<\/p>\n

\u201cUnregulated camping near the Colorado River and in public spaces creates persistent environmental damage,\u201d one resident said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe US Supreme Court\u2019s ruling on Grant Pass versus Johnson gives our city clear authority to protect public spaces without first providing shelter beds,\u201d said Ruth Kennet, a Grand Valley Resident. \u201dIt\u2019s time to use that as authority. Our parks, trails, and riverfront must remain safe, clean, and welcoming for everyone<\/p>\n

Residents proposed other ideas for the council to consider.<\/p>\n

\u201cRotating micro-shelter villages with on-site behavioral health support, paid community restoration crews that hire stabilized individuals to restore the very parks and riverfronts that they once occupied,\u201d said Kennet.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe would like them to pause to enact something like safe parking, safe camping,\u201d Campbell said.<\/p>\n

In the end, the Council voted 5-2 to pass the ordinance, officially amending the law. Towards the end of the session, Councilmember Anna Stout encouraged the city to look at funding opportunities for service providers who assist the unhoused population. <\/p>\n

This is a developing story; more information will be provided through further reporting. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (KJCT) – After hours of council discussion and public comment, the Grand Junction City Council…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":683427,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[4,450,297358,297356,297361,451,12589,58411,3,297360,452,453,297359,297357,25044],"class_list":["post-683426","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-breaking-news","tag-breaking-news","tag-breakingnews","tag-camping-ordinance","tag-grand-junction-city-council","tag-grant-pass-versus-johnson","tag-headlines","tag-homelessness","tag-mesa-county","tag-news","tag-public-property-camping-ban","tag-top-stories","tag-topstories","tag-unhoused-population","tag-western-coloraod","tag-western-slope"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/683426","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=683426"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/683426\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/683427"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=683426"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=683426"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=683426"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}