The full ordinance authorizing the emergency unauthorized encampment ban is on our homelessness webpage, lovgov.org/homelessness, but in short, the City Council determined that an emergency ordinance was necessary on this issue to mitigate unreasonable risk of fire and preservation of public and private property across the City. The ultimate goal is to ensure public health and safety for our community.

Neither the City Charter nor state law requires City Council to seek a public vote on the enactment of an emergency ordinance. According to the City of Loveland Charter, an emergency ordinance shall require the affirmative vote of two-thirds (2/3) of the entire Council and may be introduced and finally adopted at any regular or special meeting, shall require only one (1) reading, and shall not require publication prior to final adoption.

The encampment ban is an emergency declaration by City Council. The job of the City Manager and City staff is to respond to this direction legally, and as quickly and effectively as possible, following Council’s direction. With that said, there are a lot of moving parts to making this happen, but the priority was to identify an immediate solution for overnight shelter and reasonable storage options for campers so that we could begin the process of cleaning-up encampments in King’s Crossing.

The City cleared its first encampment on June 24, temporarily relocating campers from the encampments to local motels as transitional shelter. This option is needed to move encampments as quickly as possible. The number of encampments and campers moved depends on the number of available rooms every week.

The City is working on two longer-term shelter options – the Loveland Resource Center (LRC), and shelter at the S. Railroad site. Both shelters will add more overnight space allowing us to enforce and mitigate more encampments currently located on public lands.

• The Loveland Resource Center (located at 137 S. Lincoln Ave.) opened in mid-July to provide daytime resources, showers, laundry facilities, etc. to those experiencing homelessness in our community. The center is open M-F 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. This day center was previously 137 Connect managed by the House of Neighborly Services and has offered resources to those experiencing homelessness for 12 years. The LRC also offers 22-25 spaces for overnight shelter. There is space behind the LRC to accommodate several humanitarian tents, which may be used temporarily in addition to the proposed S. Railroad site to add more shelter spaces to move encampments faster.
• The S. Railroad site (located at S. Railroad Ave. and SE Third St.) is currently being considered as a longer-term, not permanent, overnight shelter option using a tent/modular approach on City-owned land. This temporary site is still being considered, but if the S. Railroad site is activated, it will serve as the main overnight shelter space, with the LRC serving as overflow space. The humanitarian tents, modulars and trailers used for showers and restrooms are all designed to be removeable.

The City considered numerous potential sites for this shelter in all Wards across the City based on zoning, site prep requirements, scalability, proximity to schools/neighborhoods, access to services, availability/ownership, and access to public transit (bus service). The City’s review of site locations includes discussion and consideration of the following:

• All City-owned property which includes over 50 parcels of land. All property within the river corridor was eliminated as the City cannot develop in the floodplain for human safety concerns.
• All available private property that was for lease or sale at the time; however, no site met all of the criteria listed above.
• Property outside of city limits was not looked at due to County zoning codes.

Ultimately, there is no perfect site available, and the City’s old wastewater treatment plant site (now called the S. Railroad site) was the one final property available within the short timeline requested by City Council that met all of the following criteria:

• Proximity to support services (Loveland Resource Center, Loveland Community Kitchen, Library, Salvation Army, Sunrise Medical Clinic)
• Ability to scale/size the shelter as needed for use, including expansion as needed
• Safety/security of the public and for campers
• Relative distance from neighborhoods and schools
• Appropriate zoning
• Proximity to public transit

This shelter site will be required to abide by all development criteria needed for a temporary permit through the City’s Building Code. At the July 26 Special City Council meeting, council’s general consensus and guidance supported that the City move forward with this site, while no vote was officially taken. Staff committed to a neighborhood meeting and a larger public meeting about the proposed site and overall process.

We have received several questions specifically related to other sites around the City including near the Police and Courts building, the old Albertson’s Building on U.S. 34, the old Loveland Ford Building on U.S. 34 and locations far from downtown, but along a bus route. The site near the Police and Courts building, where the new St. Valentine Apartments are located, was considered, however, a current Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) with Larimer County does not allow for a shelter to be built on that property. Both the old Albertson’s Building and the old Ford Building are privately owned buildings and not zoned appropriately for shelter. The City explored sites outside of downtown and across the City, but zoning, time needed for site preparation and bus access issues made other sites not viable for this project within a short timeframe.

At the July 26 City Council meeting, council was in favor of proceeding with a tent/modular campus option. This means that modular or trailer units will be used for restrooms, showers, and administrative offices, while high-grade humanitarian 16’x16’ GP Tents (similar to the ones that FEMA uses) will be used to house individuals.

The S. Railroad site will start with six humanitarian tents, and per City of Loveland’s Building Code, each tent can accommodate five beds. That means that the shelter site will be able to accommodate 30 people to start. The tent option allows us to scale up if needed to add more tents. Remember, as part of the ordinance, Loveland must offer shelter and reasonable storage to any individual that is moved through the unauthorized encampment ban process, so we will need to provide adequate shelter space for as long as we have the ban.

Currently, there are no other plans for shelter beyond the S. Railroad site. The S. Railroad site was designed to be temporary for up to two years and can be activated within 30 to 45 days to continue enforcing the unauthorized encampment ban.

As part of the ordinance, Loveland must offer shelter and storage to any individual that is required to move through the unauthorized encampment ban process, so we will need shelter space for as long as we have the ban. Following City Council’s direction for staff to quickly eliminate unauthorized encampments, the S. Railroad site is the best option because it meets the necessary criteria and provides a timely shelter option. During the July 26 City Council meeting, staff outlined late August/early September as the timeframe to open the site to meet City Council’s direction to move quickly. It is estimated to take 30- 45 days to begin further activation of this site.

This site is zoned for a 6-month administratively approved temporary permit, with the ability to renew the space for 6 months at a time for up to two years, and the use of the humanitarian tents, mobile showers/restrooms, and modular administration buildings on this site were designed to be a temporary shelter option. Anything more permanent would need to be re-considered for long-term feasibility.

The City is establishing shelter rules and guidelines based off of best practices from experienced agencies already providing overnight shelter, including Larimer Catholic Charities and Fort Collins Rescue Mission. These rules and regulations are available on the Shelters webpage.

The LRC offers one shower, laundry (two washers and dryers), two restrooms, hygiene products, access to computers, and access to service providers that will provide connection for persons struggling with substance use disorder, assistance with employment services, public benefits; medical, dental, and vision referrals; coordinated entry assessments; housing needs assessments and referrals, mental health services. Some of the service providers will be available every day and others weekly.

The S. Railroad site plans to offer showers and restrooms. The site will work closely with the LRC to ensure that services are available at one or both locations as needed. Any other specific service decisions will be made once the site is activated.

We recognize the public’s interest in detailed data on the individuals living in encampments and moving to shelter; however, being homeless is not a crime and homeless individuals are not legally required to provide personal details, IDs, etc. to City staff or law enforcement officers unless they are committing a crime.

We do not currently require our Encampment Team to ask for any demographic data when we issue vacate notices and manage the actual removal, as the goal is to keep the situation as safe and seamless as possible for everyone. It is also difficult for this team to verify demographic information provided by campers even if asked.

Individuals accessing shelter and services at the Loveland Resource Center or at the S. Railroad site will need to provide information to the Homeless Management Information Systems (HMIS) data management platform, which is also used to support PIT counts and is required by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). HMIS wasn’t readily available to Loveland previously since it lacked a shelter. As the LRC and S. Railroad site continue to operate, Loveland will be able to gain a better understanding of who is in the community and can use that to better address homeless in Loveland. HMIS data can include name, date of birth, gender, race, ethnicity, veteran status, homeless situation/housing situation information, disabling conditions, physical or developmental disabilities, chronic health conditions, location data and more.

The number of people living in encampments changes day by day, but the City shows that on August 15, 2022, there were approximately 47 encampments within King’s Crossing, River’s Edge Natural Area, Fairgrounds Park, Cottonwood Run and the Civic Center. It is assumed that each encampment has about 1.5 to 2 people per encampment. City Council has directed we focus on the Kings-Crossing area first. We estimate this area has been impacted by 39 encampment sites as of June 24. The seventh successful clean-up occurred on August 19 that involved 6 sites and 8 campers. Other data associated with King’s Crossing includes:

• Total encampments cleaned to date = 25
• Current number of remaining encampments = 14
• Encampment clean-up efforts will continue to be a challenge until more shelter space comes on-line involving 16x16 humanitarian tents at the Loveland Resource Center
• Total Camper Relocations to date = 31

The safety of our residents is important to both the City and the Loveland Police Department and we recognize that it can be discouraging when you call to report something and a desired resolution can’t be reached. Many times, this is because there isn’t enough evidence to follow-up on a reported crime, or due to the level of the crime. LPD has also been understaffed, which has impacted the ability to have more foot and bike patrols in the downtown area this past year. LPD is using overtime officers for additional foot patrol downtown on Friday and Saturday nights. So far in 2022, LPD has tracked 3,818 calls including calls from citizens, officer-reported or follow-up calls within the downtown area from 1st Street to 7th Street and Madison Avenue to Grant Avenue. These calls, offenses and crimes all have varying levels of what LPD can and cannot enforce. The top 11 types of calls LPD has responded to are:

• Abandoned Vehicle = 341
• Extra Patrol = 316
• Welfare Check = 196
• Suspicious Circumstance = 187
• Assist Citizen = 153
• Transient = 150
• Assist Business = 117
• Disturbance = 105
• Mental Health = 62
• Alarm = 57
• Disorderly Conduct = 17

LPD is working on several improvements that should make a positive difference for the downtown community now and when a robust shelter option is in place.

• LPD has hired 7-8 new mid-level officers who will be done with training in October. This additional headcount for LPD can help increase foot and bike patrols downtown.
• LPD is looking to create a community engagement division in 2023 (pending budget approval) that would increase the number of officers trained to handle homelessness-related issues. These officers would be part of the City’s Response Team and assist in the interaction between downtown residents and businesses and individuals experiencing homelessness in Loveland.

We want to remind the public these calls require different approaches than regular LPD calls. We also need the public to help by reporting things when they see them. The best ways to report crimes, including trespassing is to call LPD’s non-emergent number at 970-667-2151, or for emergencies dial 911.

The following data and qualitative information about homeless individuals in the city as well as the region, help us understand what is happening.

• Data: The City of Loveland is part of the Northern Colorado Continuum of Care (NCCC). This is a regional planning body that also includes the City of Fort Collins, the City of Greeley, Larimer County and Weld County, coordinates housing and services funding for homeless individuals and families. Data is available in two ways: 1) a Homeless Point in Time Count (PIT Count), which is a federally mandated count (via the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act) of individuals experiencing homelessness on any given night in a community, and 2) Homeless Management Information Systems (HMIS) data, which is compiled and managed by a third-party. HMIS data can be collected at day centers and shelters, so Loveland data through HMIS is currently limited. However, PIT County data has given us some insight into what Loveland is experiencing with homelessness. PIT count takes place during the last 10 calendar days of January. Every year, a count of homeless individuals and families in shelters is completed. Every other year, in addition to the sheltered count, a count of unsheltered homeless individuals is completed. Due to the transient nature of the population and the large geographic area of the Northern Colorado region, it is extremely difficult to capture all homeless individuals and families. Because of this, the 2022 PIT Count is considered an underrepresentation of homelessness in Northern Colorado.
  • Insights from the 2022 PIT Count revealed the following:
    • In Loveland, 169 homeless individuals were counted on a single night in January 2022. Of that number, 53 individuals were sheltered (anyone staying in a supervised publicly or privately operated shelter), and 116 were unsheltered (anyone staying in a public or private place, like an unauthorized encampment, car, bus station, etc.).
    • Larimer County data shows that 34% of individuals experiencing homelessness are considered to be chronically homeless (living unsheltered and/or in an emergency shelter for a year or more, or having four or more episodes of homelessness totaling 12+ months in a three-year period AND having a disabling condition).
    • In Larimer County, 55.4% of homeless individuals do not have substance use disorders or serious mental illness, 44.6% do.

Historically, Loveland has not participated in collecting data in the Homeless Management Information System (HMIS). Homeward Alliance, as part of the lead agency on homelessness, is working with Loveland agencies, including the newly formed Loveland Resource Center to begin collecting additional data points to have a better understanding on homelessness in Loveland.

• The City began work on a larger Homelessness Strategic Plan (HSP) with Homeward Alliance in 2021. You can read the RFP details on our webpage at lovgov.org/homelessness. The HSP is the City’s plan to create systems to get people out of homelessness.
• The emergency unauthorized encampment ban is a response to cleaning up the active unauthorized encampments on public property to mitigate unreasonable risk of fire and preservation of public and private property across the City.

You can:

• Email OCE@cityofloveland.org;
• Leave a voicemail at 970-962-2302 (OCE);
• Call the Encampment Hotline at 970-962-2150.