Proposed Sioux Falls ordinance would ban encampments in public places

Following the lead of cities nationwide, the city of Sioux Falls is proposing to ban encampments in public places.

An ordinance change being brought this week to the Sioux Falls City Council would make it illegal to erect a “dwelling” in public places.

A “dwelling” includes but is not limited to tents, huts, shelters or any collection of materials designed to provide permanent or temporary residence as opposed to recreation, or anything that provides shelter for more than one hour.

A public place is defined as buildings owned, leased or managed by the city, city parks and any public street, public alley, public highway, public right-of-way or public sidewalk.

The change “reflects our growing concerns around public health, safety and the responsible use of our parks, green spaces and other public areas,” said Michelle Treasure, the city’s homeless coordinator.

“We are seeing an increase in numbers of people camping, as well as additional spaces throughout the city that people are creating dwelling spaces. What once was more of a tension in our parks and green spaces has also moved to additional places throughout the entire city.”

It has been an ongoing issue, Police Chief Jon Thum said.

“For years, we have seen people building structures in the woods. We get a lot of complaints from our trail users, runners, and … we’re removing tons of trash from those areas. There’s people who don’t even realize it’s against the law to camp in parks, and this clearly defines the gray areas that are there.”

In June 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that cities can ban people from sleeping and camping in public places, overturning a lower court ruling that had called it cruel and unusual to punish people for the practice.

Since then, cities nationwide have brought forward new laws that reflect that decision.

The goal in Sioux Falls is “to take a proactive stance to ensure our public spaces remain safe, accessible and properly maintained for the entire community before the situation gets out of control,” Treasure said.

The ordinance “is not intended to criminalize individuals experiencing homelessness or hardship,” she said, but rather to reinforce the importance of using existing social services resources and long-term housing strategies.

Local shelters have capacity to handle the estimated number of people needing a place to stay, she said.

“We don’t want to be a community known as an easy place to feed addiction and live a lifestyle that ravages mental health,” Thum added. “We need people to be in shelters so they can access these resources because it is not sustainable to live in that environment.”

Sioux Falls also has helped several individuals recently “where shelter services have not been an option for them, but they wanted their future to look different,” Treasure said. “We also have set aside vouchers through Sioux Falls Housing & Redevelopment Commission for those that are chronically homeless and shelter services aren’t the right fit.”

The hope is that the ordinance change maintains the integrity of public spaces while offering humane and constructive solutions for people in need, she said.

“We are really looking at this through a health, safety and dignity lens,” Treasure said.

“This isn’t about trying to enforce our way out of this — we have success stories to prove this and teams internally and externally that are working on this every single day. It is not perfect, and we are building on it every day to strengthen not only the relationships on the street but the collaboration within the partners as well. We have positive data to support that those that are seeking shelter and temporary housing are also getting connected to primary health providers.”

As of early this year, roughly 150 cities in 32 states had passed or strengthened such ordinances. Approximately 40 more local bans were pending, according to data sent to Stateline by the National Homelessness Law Center.

“Minneapolis is tearing down all the encampments they allowed. The Pacific Northwest is jailing people who refuse to go to shelters,” Thum said. “We’re never gotten to this because we’re managing it.”

The timing is key, Treasure said.

“Nationwide, we know that people are relocating to places that do not have measures in place,” she said.

“We know this because those living this way in our city have told us that. For example, a couple came to Sioux Falls from Florida and had two tents set up in one of our greenway spaces because they thought they could camp here in Sioux Falls.”

The ordinance provides a narrow exception for some so-called dwellings: If used in a public place, they must be in a city park and approved through a permit or other approval process from the city. They also can’t be used “in a manner that compromises public safety or that masks, hinders or otherwise delays the recognition of or response to any medical emergency involving any person,” according to the proposed ordinance. Dwellings can’t be connected to any building, fence, wall lamp, flagpole, construction improvement or facility, including trees and shrubbery, and they can’t have a floor.

All city ordinance violations are the equivalent of Class 2 misdemeanors, meaning they could be punishable by up to a $500 fine and 30 days in jail. The city typically requests only a fine. The standard amount for ordinance violations that do not have an equivalent state statute violation is $107.50, according to the city attorney’s office.

The Sioux Falls City Council will first consider the change on Wednesday with a vote likely set for Aug. 12.