Health and safety, say city officials, are prime reasons for clearances and seizures of homeless campers’ property
City-run sweeps of homeless people’s encampments have not been put on hold, and city officials are working to recast urban camping as an issue of public health and safety.
To them, it’s a matter of trash, disease, and shady characters camping out, not of personal property and humane treatment.
That much was made clear in the first three minutes of a Dec. 3 briefing of the City Council by Human Services Department director Patricia McInturff and Parks facilities manager Cheryl Fraser. ...