LAS VEGAS (AP) - A ban on camping and sleeping in public was expanded, a move advocates say criminalizes people living on the street.
The Las Vegas City Council voted 5-2 Wednesday to approve the ordinance making it illegal to sit, rest, sleep or camp on public sidewalks during designated cleaning hours.
The new ordinance authorizes the director of the Department of Operations and Maintenance to designate hours of cleaning and requires those hours to be posted on signs and markings, city officials said.
Violations would be punishable by a fine up to $1,000 or imprisonment up to six months, officials said.
Council members gave no statements on the new ordinance.
The expanded regulation comes after the homelessness measure was passed in November making it a misdemeanor to rest, sleep or camp in public near residential properties, in multiple downtown districts or near food-processing facilities, city officials said.
The city is trying to combat a potential public health crisis amid the rise of homeless encampments in downtown, city officials said.
But critics said the city policy is endangering and unfairly targeting vulnerable people who have nowhere else to go.
“If a person can’t afford to eat, they can’t afford $1,000 or a misdemeanor,” Battle Born Progress staff member Carmella Gadsen told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “We are advocating for people who have nothing.”
The ordinance does not explicitly define the zones where the policy would be enforced. It also does not provide an estimated frequency or duration for sidewalk cleaning or if offenders would receive warnings before enforcement, officials said.
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