Houston City Council is voting on a proposed expansion of the city’s civility ordinance tomorrow, a key component of Mayor John Whitmire’s strategy to address homelessness in the city.
The proposed changes would modify the current ordinance by implementing a 24-hour ban on sitting, lying down, or placing personal items on city sidewalks in two areas: the Central Business District and East Downtown.
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This marks a significant shift from the existing ordinance, which only restricts these activities from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. in approved neighborhoods.
During today’s public session, some community members voiced concerns about the ordinance’s impact.
A family doctor working at Healthcare for the Homeless Houston, Mudit Golotra, explains how the expansion could negatively impact one of his patients, Kathy, who currently lives on the street.
"For the sake of privacy, I’m going to call her Kathy. Kathy is a patient of mine, and I’ve worked for years now building trust one visit at the time. Kathy, since she was evicted by our own housing system, and therefore developed a deep distrust of the system, and therefore repeatedly turned down any further help. The coalition, doing the amazing work that they do, have found her an apartment, and a week ago, her and I sat together on the sidewalk, and I spent an hour trying to convince her to go see that apartment. At the end of the conversation, she said, Doctor, I believe they’re trying to hurt me. But you have a kind heart, so I will go look at that apartment. This is a monumental step forward for her. That decision was a result of years of trust building. I heard Chief Satterwhite last week, and I know the intent is not to actually collect money from people, it’s not to actual arrest people. However, if Cathy had even perceived a threat of citation or arrest, I’m confident she would have fled and we would not be able to find her," said Dr. Golotra.
A resident from the Houston Heights, John Nix, says the agenda item should “be pulled out of the consent and voted down because it “dehumanizes and criminalizes the homeless population in the city.”
Any violations to the ordinance carry the potential of a Class C misdemeanor charge with maximum fines of $500. However, city officials stress that enforcement would prioritize connecting individuals with services rather than punishing them.
Tomorrow’s vote will determine whether this new approach moves forward as part of Houston’s evolving strategy to address its homeless population.
