Loveland Continues Work on Shelter Locations as Part of Emergency Unauthorized Encampment Ban

“I want to express my thanks to our community for the comments and questions presented to staff during both our August neighborhood meeting and Town Hall. I, along with City staff, are seeking to execute the will of the City Council, consistent with the adoption of the emergency unauthorized camping ban by the City Council on May 17, 2022,” said Loveland City Manager Steve Adams.

“We recognize that there is no perfect place for a shelter, but City Council approved the emergency ordinance to mitigate the risk of fire, preserve public and private property, and ensure public health and safety for our community. These shelter options give us the ability to move forward quickly to achieve these goals,” continued Adams.

Over the next 30 – 60 days, the following work will take place on the two shelter spaces:

The additional tents and beds are being added to the LRC temporarily to increase overnight capacity from 22-25 beds to 42-45 beds until the S. Railroad Site is fully activated later this fall.

The ordinance allows the City to prohibit anyone camping illegally on public property as long as it offers overnight shelter space and temporary storage for valuables to anyone that is required to move.

The S. Railroad Site shelter space (3rd St. SE and Railroad Ave.) was identified as the most viable site for a longer-term, yet temporary shelter space based on several criteria and continues to be the most viable option. The site will be required to abide by all development criteria needed for a temporary permit through the City’s Building Code.

City staff first presented the proposed S. Railroad Site during the Emergency Ordinance update to City Council on July 26, 2012. Staff addressed comments and questions from the public through an August 10 neighborhood meeting, August 24 Town Hall and through emails and phone calls.

“Throughout this process, we have been listening to the public’s feedback and concerns, using that to help guide our implementation process, including a focus on safety and code of conduct rules at the shelters, working with the Loveland Police Department on downtown patrols/community engagement as they work to increase staffing levels, and continuing to provide the public with more clarity and data on the encampment cleanup process, as well as homelessness in Loveland and Larimer County,” said Adams.

A lot of important work is happening to move forward quickly on this emergency ordinance. The City is sharing weekly updates on the unauthorized encampment ban efforts and other resources art lovgov.org/homelessness.

This website also includes copies of the emergency ordinances, recordings of past public meetings on the ordinance, presentations with visuals of the proposed S. Railroad site and updated FAQs as they are available. Lovelanders can call the Encampment Hotline at 970-962-2150 to speak with a City staff member during Loveland Public Library Hours, leave a voicemail at 970-962-2302 or email [email protected] with any questions or comments.