Leon Valley says it's not making homelessness illegal; panhandling ban dropped

San Antonio Express-News
Timothy Fanning - timothy.fanning@express-news.net
June 13, 2023

A new ordinance bans encampments and prohibits sleeping in a vehicle for more than two hours, among other restrictions on those experiencing homelessness.

But the “intent of this is to help people who are homeless and try to figure out and work with other organizations to help,” City Councilman Will Bradshaw said. “It’s not to make them illegal.”

It was developed in response to complaints from residents and business owners about homeless encampments that have cropped up within city limits over the last seven years.

The approved ordinance is slightly less rigid than the original. For instance, it no longer prohibits panhandling.

That change was necessary, elected officials said, because of potential unintended consequences for a person’s constitutional right to protest on public property. The original language forbade anyone from “annoying” people along a public street, park or shopping center, or obstructing the entrance of a public building.

Melinda Moritz, the public works director, said at a council meeting June 6 that Leon Valley does not have the resources needed to provide homeless services on a long-term basis.

“There is no way that Leon Valley can handle this by ourselves,” Moritz said. “We don’t have the room; we are not going to go buy a hotel; we don’t have mental health workers; we don’t have a hospital. We have nothing.”

Moritz said many of the changes in the new ordinance merely reiterate existing state law, including banning encampments on public land.

While city staff “strongly recommended” partnering with homelessness advocates and other organizations, that suggestion was not codified in the new ordinance. Neither was a suggestion to earmark funds annually to support these agencies in exchange for their assistance in Leon Valley.

However, the city is meeting this month with Bexar County and Corazón San Antonio to discuss possible grant funding. It hopes to work with local homelessness organizations such as Haven for Hope.

“We are all collectively trying to find a humane solution for relocation, if possible,” City Manager Crystal Caldera said Monday.

Abuse of rights ‘will not happen’

Caldera said the city would not fine or arrest people for violating its new ordinance. Instead, police will contact either Haven for Hope or Corazón San Antonio to request assistance, according to an internal city policy.

“If Haven for Hope or CorazonSA do not respond within two weeks, the city of Leon Valley will proceed with” clearing a camp, according to the policy.

Caldera emphasized the city does not want to throw away personal items, but after two weeks, they will remove anything that does not belong to the property owner.

Once an encampment has been discovered, the area will be monitored by code enforcement officers every week for two months to ensure that “the transient persons have not returned.”

City Councilman Rey Orozco said he is confident Leon Valley’s staff will be humane.

“As far as abusing the rights of the homeless, it will not happen,” Orozco said.

Pete Barrera, an outreach member with Haven for Hope, visited a stretch of Bandera Road and areas in and around Leon Valley on a recent Friday afternoon. Only a handful of unhoused people were around.

There are essentially no encampments in Leon Valley anymore, Barrera said, because the Leon Valley Police Department is quick to disperse people.

The aggressive approach and lack of visibility make it difficult for Barrera to do outreach like handing out water, fruit cups and electrolytes and to connect people to services, he said.

Over the last few weeks, Moritz said she did “a lot of research” about homelessness, reviewing policies in San Antonio, Houston and other cities. She spoke to national homeless advocates and reviewed local programs — those available through Bexar County, Haven for Hope and elsewhere.

She found the most successful programs embrace an effort to get people experiencing homelessness into housing, regardless of their drug and alcohol use. In addition to housing, the best practices involve providing food, mental and medical health and job skills training, Moritz said.

“With the right mix of these programs and well-coordinated local systems — we can’t do this by ourselves — and effective policies, many cities and countries have proven that homelessness can be successfully addressed,” she said.

She added that elected leaders may want to work with Bexar County and area nonprofits, and then budget funds to support their efforts.

“We don’t have the resources needed right now to do anything,” Moritz said.

Staff photographer Josie Norris contributed to this report.

timothy.fanning@express-news.net