The city of Austin is considering two different locations for potential homeless encampments.
According to a July 19 memorandum to the Austin mayor and city council from Austin Homeless Strategy Officer Dianna Grey, the city has been focused on implementing homeless encampments since May.
“Both properties are owned by the city of Austin, are being held for future creation of affordable housing and could be used temporarily until that development takes place,” Grey wrote in the memo, according to KXAN.
The station reported that the sites, which will be studied further to determine their plausibility as encampments, are close to busy community resources. The site on Convict Hill Road is close to a middle school, while the site on Manor Road is close to a preschool and a golf course.
The city originally proposed 45 different potential sites after the Texas Legislature passed a camping ban, forbidding the state’s homeless from taking up shelter in parks.
“We are actively pursuing steps to prepare both sties for city council consideration,” Parks and Recreation Department Director Kimberly McNeeley said in Grey’s memo.
If the sites are cleared, prefabricated buildings often referred to as micro-shelters would be assembled on the premises. The encampments would reportedly be fenced and under 24/7 staffing and security.
The city memo also posed many challenges facing the encampments, including the absence of a nearby fire hydrant, dilapidated existing structures and a required series of permits and rezoning measures.
