Fairfax postpones decision on camping crackdown

Fairfax has delayed a vote on a controversial anti-camping ordinance until the new Town Council members are seated on Dec. 4.

The ordinance, drafted amid public demands for a camp near Contratti Park to be cleared out, was scheduled to have its first reading at the Town Council meeting on Wednesday.

“I guess I’m left feeling like we’ve done an important job in bringing this forward, but maybe the next council wants to deliberate on whether they actually want to move forward with this or stick with what is on the books and see how it goes,” said Councilmember Chance Cutrano, who is falling short of reelection in the latest ballot count.

On Nov. 6, the council directed Janet Coleson, the town attorney, to draft an ordinance banning camping on all public property. A town report said 17 homeless people live in Fairfax.

Coleson said her charge was to write an ordinance that was legally defensible. She said the decision to include a repeal of current code was to ensure there were no conflicting rules.

“I believe I have done that,” she said.

Coleson said town regulations do not include an up-to-date ban on public camping. The relevant regulations are not organized in a single ordinance, she said, and the code allows for camping on public property with permission from the town clerk.

Town Manager Heather Abrams said the proposed ordinance is “not the end all, be all.”

“The ordinance is really about preventing camping in Fairfax, but it doesn’t really address housing people,” Abrams said.

The town has not completely calculated the cost estimates for the proposed ordinance, Abrams said. The costs could include additional staff time for police and public works employees; a contractor to collect and store materials; new signage; and camp cleanups.

Residents recently organized a protest at the Parkade to call on the town to abate the Contratti Park camp.

Frank Egger, who won a seat on the Town Council in the election on Nov. 5, said the proposed ordinance has loopholes and would require additional police oversight.

“This ordinance will create new public safety threats for our town by allowing nighttime use of our parks,” he said.

Robbie Powelson, an advocate for homeless people in Marin, urged the council to not pass the new ordinance.

“It’s a nice camp up there, good decent people,” Powelson said. “This ordinance is not a solution. This ordinance is going to criminalize everybody in this town that doesn’t have a place to stay.”

Councilmembers said the proposed ordinance addressed community concerns about the Contratti Park site.

“Now it seems like nobody likes the ordinance, so I am really unclear,” said Councilmember Bruce Ackerman, who lost his reelection bid.

The election included seven candidates, including three incumbents, competing for three available seats. Egger won the most votes and Mike Ghiringhelli came in second. Incumbent Barbara Coler is in third place, 71 votes ahead of Cutrano.

The county elections office has tallied all but a few ballots and plans to release the final results on Dec. 3.