photo by: Chris Conde/Journal-World

A campsite is pictured on the south shore of the Kansas River, a few yards from the water's edge, on Oct. 9, 2023.

The City of Lawrence has launched an online form to report new homeless campsites around the city, which was first announced at Tuesday’s Lawrence City Commission meeting.

According to a release from the city, the form is intended to be used by community members who are “aware of a person who is currently camping and may need shelter.” The form asks respondents to provide the closest available address to the location, the date they first noticed the campsite and a description of the campsite and its occupants.

The release says city staff will then go to the area indicated on the form to make contact with any individuals camping there and discuss available services in the community.

“While the City of Lawrence is not a direct service provider, the team is connected with partner organizations that can provide emergency shelter and other services,” the release reads.

From there, city staff members will give a minimum of 24 hours’ notice to vacate the area if an individual is camping in a location where camping isn’t allowed. If they haven’t cleared the area within the designated time, a member of the city’s homeless programs team will meet with the individual and give them another opportunity to move.

After that second interaction, the individual may be given a citation for illegal camping and be removed, along with their belongings, if they still don’t voluntarily vacate the area. According to the release, the homeless programs team will hold onto belongings for up to 30 days in the event the owner wants to retrieve them.

Assistant City Manager Brandon McGuire detailed that process at Tuesday’s City Commission meeting, when he also announced the online reporting tool would begin operating Wednesday.

The release on Wednesday also notes which areas of the city are illegal locations for overnight camping. City parks are one example; the city has signs posted in some park areas in North Lawrence listing park hours that also read “No Overnight Camping Allowed.”

Overnight camping also isn’t allowed on streets, sidewalks and public rights of way; on private property without the owner’s consent; and in the downtown commercial district, according to the release.

The one city-sanctioned campsite for individuals experiencing homelessness, Camp New Beginnings in North Lawrence, is one of the exceptions to those rules — in the event there is no overnight shelter available to an individual who is camping in a prohibited area, they’re allowed to camp on public property within the downtown commercial district like the city support site.

The city effort to curb illegal overnight camping comes after city leaders like Lawrence Mayor Lisa Larsen and other community members have voiced curiosity about why the city isn’t enforcing its no-camping ordinance. City staff has previously maintained that part of that hesitation was due to a 2018 federal appellate court ruling that found the city of Boise, Idaho, couldn’t prohibit public camping if there weren’t available shelter beds in the community.

“The City of Lawrence, along with Douglas County, has made a commitment to the ‘Built for Zero’ initiative, which means we are working to end chronic homelessness in our community,” the release reads. “As part of this commitment, we envision a future wherein camping is no longer necessary because better solutions — like permanent affordable housing, transitional housing and, when necessary, emergency shelter — are available for everyone who needs them. However, until sufficient resources are available in our community, camping remains a reality.”