City police officers are stepping up enforcement of Boulder’s camping ban, issuing nearly twice as many tickets to homeless people so far this year compared to the same period in 2024, according to a Boulder Reporting Lab analysis of city data.
Since January, the city has issued at least 115 citations for camping, with a notable uptick beginning in March — around the time officers began citing changes in enforcement practices along Boulder Creek. That compares to about 60 tickets during the same time last year.
The uptick follows a 2023 voter-approved ballot measure that amended city code to prioritize the removal of tents near schools and multi-use paths — and a U.S. Supreme Court ruling upholding the constitutionality of camping bans like Boulder’s.
The city is now posting pink “notices to vacate” along the entire Boulder Creek Path — from the kayak course to 17th Street — as well as portions of Goose Creek path, even in areas where no tents are present. Previously, city officials typically posted these notices after encampments were reported or “hotspots” were observed.
Under city policy, officials say they generally give people 72 hours’ notice before clearing an encampment, with some exceptions. But because the entire upper portion of the creek path is now posted with these notices, police can remove encampments along Boulder Creek immediately, according to city officials.
One city officer told Boulder Reporting Lab that, as of March, people can be ticketed the same day a notice is posted — and jailed if they meet criteria for “resistance and defiance.” A citation alone wouldn’t typically result in jail unless the person fails to show up to court and has multiple arrest warrants.
Several people sleeping outside told Boulder Reporting Lab that officers used to suggest alternate locations where they could relocate during an encampment removal. That’s no longer happening, they said.
“Officers have been instructed not to tell people where they can camp, as all camping in the city is illegal,” said Commander Michael Heath, who oversees the Homeless Outreach and Unsanctioned Camping teams for the Boulder Police Department.
‘No change to enforcement protocols’
The rise in camping ban citations this year signals a tougher approach by Boulder to clearing encampments along the path. While city officials describe the changes as refinements, the tactics mark a shift from past practices and raise questions about balancing public safety with the reality that some people have nowhere else to go.
“There’s been so much pushback about the encampments that are built up along particularly the Boulder Creek corridor that the city manager pretty much told us that it’s zero tolerance,” Officer Ross Maynard, a member of the Boulder Police’s Homelessness Response Team (HRT), told Boulder Reporting Lab. “There’s no tents that are allowed to even stand in the Boulder Creek corridor.”
He said a shift occurred in mid-to-late March — which aligns with when Commander Heath said the HRT and the city’s encampment removal program, Safe and Managed Public Spaces (SAMPS), were asked to reassess their protocols along the creek. June and July 2024 also saw citation numbers comparable to March 2025, suggesting that warmer weather may also contribute to a rise in camping citations.
City spokesperson Shannon Aulabaugh said the city has not changed its enforcement protocols.
“However, we can share that we have refined our strategy for addressing larger groups camping along the western portion of the Boulder Creek corridor,” Aulabaugh said in an email to Boulder Reporting Lab. “These groups often require a more comprehensive approach to ensure that cleared areas are not reoccupied.”
She said extreme cold in January and February, along with staffing gaps, delayed the rollout of the revised strategy.
“Notices to vacate along the Boulder Creek Corridor are part of a proactive initiative to maintain a safe and clean environment for everyone,” Aulabaugh said. “If an individual chooses to set up in a noticed area, they are subject to immediate removal.”
City data shows a slight increase in the number of confirmed encampments — up 5% in the first quarter of 2025 compared to the same period in 2024. But Aulabaugh said that since August 2024, officials have seen “a significant decline in voluntary compliance with Boulder’s camping ordinance” — with more people refusing to move, particularly between the Civic Area and Eben G. Fine Park. The increase in citations, she said, can be “directly attributed” to the decline in voluntary compliance.
In 2023, Boulder voters approved a ballot measure requiring quicker removals of encampments located within 50 feet of a path or sidewalk and 500 feet of a school. The city last year updated its encampment protocols to prioritize those areas.
The rise in citations also follows a U.S. Supreme Court ruling upholding the constitutionality of camping bans like Boulder’s, which allow officers to cite homeless people for sleeping in public with a tent or blanket. A lawsuit challenging Boulder’s camping ban is under appeal.
At the heart of the case is whether it violates protections against cruel and unusual punishment to ticket someone for sleeping outside when they have nowhere else to go. Last week, the nonprofit All Roads — the city’s largest shelter — reduced its bed count from 180 to 160 after a county funding cut. A spokesperson said they expect to turn people away every night due to the reduced capacity. Separately, TGTHR paused operations of its shelter for young adults due to a licensing issue with the state, forcing several people to move outdoors.
Meanwhile, as part of its 2025 budget, the city increased funding for SAMPS, from about $3 million in 2024 to $3.7 million. The funding also made three temporary urban ranger positions permanent.
‘It’s all contradicting. They just want everybody out.’
People who have slept along the Boulder Creek path say the city’s enforcement practices have noticeably shifted.
“They don’t want nobody in the city,” Nesti Castillo, who works at the First United Methodist Church and is on a waitlist for housing, told Boulder Reporting Lab.
“You really can’t go to Longmont or Louisville or Lafayette, because they’re telling them to come this way,” she said. “It’s all contradicting. They just want everybody out.”
“It used to [be] wherever there wasn’t a pink tag, that’s where we can go,” Castillo said, referring to the city’s pink “notices to vacate.” “Now everything is pink tags, everywhere.”
Isaiyah Jacob said he often tries to pack up his belongings in the morning before officers arrive. “The game is hide-and-seek,” he said. But it’s becoming more challenging.
“There’s times they come during two, three o’clock in the morning, waking us up telling us to move,” Castillo said.
Well done, City of Boulder. Keep up the good work. These are the laws the people have passed. We appreciate their enforcement.
I understand life situations aren’t always ideal, and substance abuse and mental health are very real obstacles to securing jobs and housing. But that doesn’t mean it’s an open invitation to bring human waste, trash, drug paraphernalia, etc. into the civic spaces that deliver the greatest quality of life for taxpaying residents.
What a snide response, as if everyone who is unable to afford market rents must be drug-addicted or mentally defective.
From 2018 to 2024, in the span of five years, rents doubled. Virtually no one’s income increased proportionally. As a result, large numbers of people are being priced out of housing, many of whom are employed.
People need to adopt a “but for the grace of God there goes I” attitude instead of endorsing cruelty and persecution.
And it’s blatantly obvious that the goal of sweeping encampments isn’t to “protect” public spaces. It’s to either displace (drive away) those who cannot afford housing, or to bring about their death by making them die of exposure.
All this false virtue is sickening.
Snide, thoughtless, and arrogant sums it up. How adults can maintain this attitude just wreaks of privilege without question.
Snide?
Where does this attitude of getting to live in Boulder come from? I lived here for a while and realized I would never be able to afford it. I moved away for career prospects, very regrettably. worked for 15 years and am now lucky enough to be back after living in some of the nations most undesirable areas. I truly dont understand this attitude that people should just get to come to one of the most desirable places in the world and not have to pay for it. its too small to just let everyone in who wants to be here, anyway. get roommates, change your career, i dont know what to tell you, but it isnt anyone’s right to get to live here.
To boot, i would bet my hard earned money that most of these folks aren’t old time boulderites down and out on their luck and you have no basis for your statements.
So how, pray tell should all the necessary jobs which DON’T pay $90k+ get done? If essential workers are priced out of housing, and persecuted like modern-day lepers if they try to camp out somewhere, what exactly is your solution? Maybe a designated camping area, designated safe parking area, and dormitory-type housing are needed after all.
$60K/yr./person for “camping area, designated safe parking area, and dormitory-type housing ” William.
You people need a serious reality check. Your vote to do this only hurts the homeless and shunning them is inhumane especially when there not enough room for everyone at the shelter. Honestly im sick and tired of seeing how the houseless are treating and pushed out everywhere they go. Frankly those who have never been homeless and vote things like this into existence dont seem to care except for themsleves. Its time we the people stand up and defend those who need help. Not just saying screw u we want you out. They have nowhere to go. Leave the homeless alone!!!!! Im disgusted with our society and their arrogance selfishness and especially lack of understanding
Glad to see the city enforcing these rules, the homeless encampments and sanitary issues have been out of control since COVID. Look forward to being able to use our public spaces again without fear of my kids stepping on a needle or in feces along the creek.
Sorry, I’m not going to let that happen. I was homeless for several years there. That city is founded on homeless people. And it’s been declared unconstitutional for a homeless person to be punish for being homeless without first offering sufficient beds for those they punish. A warning has to be issued first also. Not public notice. A real, personal and written warning of a violation… If anyone experiencing homelessness in Boulder get punished for being homeless. Contact me at indigopeacecollective@gmail.com. I will help find the right lawyers so we can talk this to a CO supreme Court district and end this war on homelessness and poverty.
I’ve seen the boulder sheriffs department kidnap a guy on drugs and out of his mind, and drive him up to Nederland and drop him off in a middle of nowhere campground (where I happened to be standing and observing while gathering wood). The didn’t id him. They didn’t give any food or anything. Handed him back his knife, and pointed at me telling him to go with the other camper. And then he followed me back to camp and threatened my life for over an hour, until my party got back. I also personally know that the homeless campers charged with the cold springs fire in 2016 was actually the sheriff’s faul. I was camping nearby and am a witness and later had to flee from the fire on foot. They pulled up to camp, told them they couldn’t camp there, and to leave and that THEY would deal with putting out the fire. And all of them left. And then many homes were destroyed including at least one fireman that I knew personally.
Revealing about 2016. Now I know what really happened.
Where to “dump” becomes an issue, as if that wasn’t to be expected.
What I don’t understand is why anyone would tolerate this type of relentless persecution. If I were a homeless person being woken up by officers in the middle of the night and told to “move on”, I would physically attack them, with the goal that one of two things occurs… Either I am fatally shot by police and now my suffering on Earth has ended, and the city has to pay for my burial, or I am arrested and taken to the jail.
Sure, the state gets to put me on trial, but then I get to put the law on trial. I would plead not guilty to charges of assaulting a policeman, etc by reason of self-defense. A reasonable policeman understands that if you confiscate or destroy a homeless person’s tent and blankets, etc, that person will likely die of exposure. Hence these encampment sweeps are an unprovoked assault on poor people for the “crime” of being too poor to afford housing. And regardless of what state and federal law might proclaim, the natural right to self-defense remains.
We don’t just tolerate this, we welcome it. Public spaces need to be kept clean for public use and all to enjoy. Everyone needs to oblige to the laws governing usage of shared, public spaces. If you don’t respect the laws and the will of the people, then expect to talk to a law enforcement officer, even at 2am.
No solutions or better ideas just more harassment. No one wants to see public spaces defiled, but I personally have not seen overly messy campsites for the last couple of years. People are generally trying to keep their places clean and keep a low profile. People literally have nowhere else to go – anywhere. There is no family waiting to welcome them with open arms. There are no beds at the shelter – here or anywhere else. How is it people in Boulder are so satisfied with surface level appearances when these people are still going to be here hiding and moving around the same spaces? Are we really that stupid and superficial in Boulder? That utterly lacking in empathy?
Homelessness is one of those problems that has no easy solutions. In the comments, I see those who support enforcement of no camping along Boulder creek and Boulder in general get attacked for being “heartless.” Unfortunately, the more tolerant and accommodating a community is for the homeless, the more likely it is that the homeless population will grow, not shrink. Look at San Francisco and Portland, these cities have deteriorated over the past decade which has hurt quality of life and property values. Tourists leave these once terrific cities and say, “it was disgusting, I’m never going back.” This is playing out in cities large and small across the country.
Wanting to keep the place where you live and raise your children clean and safe is not heartless, its normal. Wanting to be able to go to the park that your taxes pay for without it being mobbed by homeless is not heartless, its normal. Wanting your police and courts and civil service people to be able to handle crime and not spend time and our taxpayer money to enforce non-camping bans is not heartless, its financially responsible. We, the citizens of Boulder, pay for the public spaces in Boulder, this is our property and we have a right to require it to be kept clean and respected and accommodating for those who pay for it.
I wish we had a federal response for mental health and re-housing but we don’t. Until we do, I fully support the no camping enforcement and look forward to the day when I can take my daughters to the creek where trash won’t be on the banks and downtown when I can park my bike without worry about it getting stolen.
I recognize this post may sound cold but other than name-calling, I haven’t seen any solutions proposed by the anti-camping ban people other than tolerance and support which is the same as saying, “accept that there will be homelessness in our town and if you don’t, you’re a bad person” which is not a solution.
I’m open to ideas though…
Jared — this is the problem with Boulder. You encapsulated it exactly. We don’t want the homeless here, visible in public – at all. It is intolerable to Boulder’s sensibilities. You say you are taking a normal, financially responsible, pragmatic approach, but you are just taking a privileged, detached approach which is the Boulder way. We could decide homelessness was a priority in Boulder and find ways to help people. But no. This is what we do instead. We could attract real activists and grassroots community nonprofit organizations like they have in other Front Range communities if we had a culture of caring instead of the “all about me” culture that has pervaded the community for as long as I’ve been here. But no, we don’t have the cultural or community depth for that to happen. We only care about appearances. Simple as that.
Roxanne, I hear you and would like to further understand where we differ in opinion.
The US has 771,000 homeless vs a population of 340M or 0.23%. Boulder has a homeless population of 450 vs a population of 106,000 or .42%. We have almost double the homeless of the national average.
Every community has homelessness and its something I accept and can live with.
Its not a debate whether having homeless in your community costs money directly and indirectly. I accept that we will have homelessness and think we should care for them… to an extent. At the same time every extra homeless person we care for is less money for the arts, trails, environmental programs, elderly programs, schools, etc. Given that everything costs money, “prioritizing homelessness” means we actually need to put less towards these other valuable areas.
I think we are not debating whether we should care for the homeless or not but rather, “Where is the line by which we say the situation has gotten out of control and is untenable?” Is that 200 homeless, 500, 1000? For what its worth, my number is a lot closer to the national average or less and certainly not double. What’s yours? Where do you draw the line?
Perhaps its not an exact number, perhaps its more of a feeling. Once the citizens of a community “feel” unsafe using their parks and public spaces, parking their bikes downtown, or shopping on Pearl Street where they are continuously approached for money, the scales have tipped and the majority is suffering. This is how many of us feel in Boulder. This does not make us privileged or detached, we are standing up for our right to feel safe in our own community. We can care about the homeless and also want to feel safe where we live.
I think one reason the most vicious complainers feel “unsafe” in Boulder is because of the constant rhetoric they use to jack themselves up continuously and “flood the zone” so to speak. We’ve seen that take root at the national level to disastrous consequences yet regular citizens of Boulder still dial into that mentality because it suits their sensibilities. I have never once felt unsafe in Boulder. If you are constantly looking for trouble, you will likely find it, though, in any city in the country. And when you highlight numbers and cutoffs that is the wrong attitude to begin with, in my opinion. That is not the way to start.
Okay, so if I hear you correctly, I shouldn’t use statistics or listen to what my daughters’, wife and neighbors say or my own personal experience walking down Pearl Street or riding a bike along the creek? Our feelings don’t matter? Just because you have not felt unsafe does not mean that others haven’t. Read through the other comments and you’ll see details of quite a few unsafe episodes. You seem to ignore these because they don’t support your opinions. I recognize that you care for and speak for the homeless and that is admirable but you also should listen to the community that is being requested to support and pay for the homeless.
“Live with it” is not a strategy or an acceptable approach. Neither is “stop complaining” or “I feel safe so you should too.” So far, I haven’t seen or heard what the approach should be and you’re not giving any rational argument other than telling me I’m wrong. I’m really not sure “where to start” based on what you’ve said.
Jared – If one is coming from a self-serving or fearful perspective, pretty much everything will feel like a threat when it comes to the homeless. If you want to increase your understanding of homelessness current research is out there. There are a lot of people on the verge of homelessness as well struggling to make ends meet in this town. They may not be long-term Boulderites, but as William stated they are living and working here, and if we can’t find ways to even support our “essential” workers, that is a sure sign of a failed city. Visible homelessness is not the main problem in Boulder. Fear, lack of concern for others, and unwillingness to work together to solve problems are much larger problems. One thing I would suggest that is very basic: we have a homeless shelter for sheltering adult homeless individuals in Boulder that no longer prioritizes shelter. They get a lot of donations to run their nonprofit in addition to grants. Wouldn’t it be a good idea to expand and improve rather than contract sheltering services and trying to do way too much and likely not doing much of it well? We can and should be able to do a variety of things in Boulder, and that could be done by a variety of nonprofits, not one main nonprofit that the city prioritizes trying to do everything then having to cut the services they were designed to provide in the first place.
Enforcing the camping ban isn’t cruel — it’s common sense. Boulder’s parks, trails, and creeks are for the whole community, not just those who cannot find suitable shelter options. Letting public spaces all over the city turn into pop up camps harms everyone: families, businesses, and the environment. We need to stop pretending that leaving people on the streets is a solution. Enforce the rules, clean up the community spaces, and focus real help where it belongs — in drug treatment programs, job placement, and mental health programs, and not in parks. For those that don’t want help or aren’t willing to do the hard work on improving themselves and want to just walk around drunk and high doing whatever they want, they need to go elsewhere and stop making it our problem to have to put up with. We have been too soft and have made little progress because of this soft approach. You may not greet with me and that’s fine, but many, many people do as we have tolerated this for too long and don’t see things improving.
How can u say for everyone yet tell one caste of our society they cant? A contradiction in and of itself. “For everyone except for the homeless” that doesnt seem like everyone to me. Sounds like pople like you say that but dont actuaally follow it. If its for “everyone as you say then noone has any righr to tell anyone they cant and that includes the homeless. Hey its for everyone! Except for the homeless….. tha k you for for helping us see the real problem. Lol
Well spoken!
Ella where do you plan on them going as “elsewhere”? A campground in Nederland, as Bill gareth above, spoke about? I don’t think it’s possible to detain them for the treatment they need with a $380M city deficit. And their job placement won’t get them a place to live. ANYwhere.
Let the developer pay.
As long as someone cleans their area, I think it is ok if they have a blanket or sleeping bag.aybe, they could wake up at seven or eight in the morning. I can see not wanting a big encampmeñt or they might have to move to let the grass grow back. But I think a blanket is ok. It will help them not to get bugs.
Yes Robert, and where do they dispose of human waste and trash and get drinking water? My bill is $91/mo. just for water alone. Do you know it costs in excess of $6M annually to take care of them, as to waste removal and policing. You and I pay. How much can you afford? If I lose my social security, I will join them.
I am saving up, but I have spent nothing for decades, except for bike tube patches. Where’s the money?
Jared — this is the problem with Boulder. You encapsulated it exactly. We don’t want the homeless here, visible in public – at all. It is intolerable to Boulder’s sensibilities. You say you are taking a normal, financially responsible, pragmatic approach, but you are just taking a privileged, detached approach which is the Boulder way. We could decide homelessness was a priority in Boulder and find ways to help people. But no. This is what we do instead. We could attract real activists and grassroots community nonprofit organizations like they have in other Front Range communities if we had a culture of caring instead of the “all about me” culture that has pervaded the community for as long as I’ve been here. But no, we don’t have the cultural or community depth for that to happen. We only care about appearances. Simple as that.
Hmm, how about a big fat tax on all the private equity investors and other corporate investors having a field day in Boulder? Oh right, that would be illegal.
Honestly how about anyone that supports anyone being treated the the homeless do try going out their like we are and get treated the way we have for so long and then tell me after experiencing the truth that it’s not cruel? If you arent willing to find the real truth ad experience it ypu have no right to speak on it in my opinion.
Its not about where to make them go its the basic principle of leave them alone ots that simple. If they arent hurting u mind ur own and leave em alone. Pretty simple? Now if they leave trash n needles etc give them littering tickets or rehabs or something but otherwise people need to stop griping complaining about the homeless if they arent bothering you or causing problems they have as much right to use the same places anyone else does regardless of their living situation .
Hey Christopher,
I think you’re right that one would have to experience homelessness to understand just how cruel the world can feel. I also think our country has completed failed at providing a safety net so people can avoid homelessness. This has made it so cities and states try to solve the problem with lots of individual cases of success but overarching failure.
I have 2 questions I’m very curious to know;
1) From your perspective, why do homeless people choose Boulder? They’re stuck here. Its a more accommodating place to be homeless. There are better resources. They are from here and have roots… My theory is that its a beautiful place with relatively giving people and decent resources but I’d love for you to straighten me out on this point.
2) Do you think a homeless person should be able to move into any community and its now that community’s duty to directly or indirectly pay for that person? Things you mention like littering tickets, rehab, etc. are costs paid for by the community.
What are your suggestions, Jared? It sounds like you would prefer the unhoused converge en masse on a less desirable location(s) than Boulder, just really anywhere other than Boulder. What if that could occur? These other locales are supposed to step up and figure it out? Will we just export all unhoused people to other cities with one-way bus tickets? Stop providing any homeless services? Try to persecute them out of here by any means? No good approaches can come from that mindset.
You’re hurting your cause, Roxanne.
The homeless do deserve help and compassion from their community, but the resources available to do that are not endless. I certainly can’t afford to give food/money to every person in need that comes to Boulder – I have my own mouths to feed and bills to pay to keep a roof over my family.
You want Boulder to support any homeless person that visits regardless of the cost to the community. And, if need be, impose some tax on “the rich developers”.
That’s just wrong.
I’m not a rich developer, but if you want their money, go ask them. Don’t expect my vote on some tax to take it from them, because your argument is unreasonable, and, frankly, it’s crazy.
The city should target a set number of homeless persons that it will support, whether that’s 200, 400, or whatever, and after that: no more support from the city coffers – the homeless can rely on the next city or go directly to “the rich developers” for a handout.
Oh, and by the way: that was my sister that was assaulted by a homeless guy at the bus station (see comments above). Where’s your compassion for her, or do you reserve that compassion just for the homeless?
A target number of unhoused people that can be in Boulder, and then what? Force them to go to another city? Besides being illegal, it’s not doable. I’m open to serious ideas. As for your sister, that is unfortunate, obviously. And it’s clearly colored your ideas of the unhoused in general.
No, Roxanne. You misunderstand.
The homeless are welcome in Boulder. They just have to obey the laws like everyone else, and there’s a limit to the taxpayer-funded resources available to them.
Jared to answer your questions general answer aafter asking my fellow people is we were push out from else where and pushed out before that. Simply put we were told f off dont want u here so ae left and had to migrate to the next closest city theres resources everywhere they just suck. Lol answer 2 your allowed to move anywhere u want right? If u can afford it of course. Well so can i this land is my land this land is your land. We pay taxes everywhere we go also every time we buy food, water, cigarettes etc. You dont get to tell us we we cant or cant live or move if i want to move to las angeles i will. If u want to move to dc u can u have as much right to tell me where i can or cant move as i have to tell you where you can or cant go. Its called equal rights.
Thanks for the response Christopher. So people were pushed out of one or several communities and came to Boulder where we have resources. This actually fits my theory that “if you build it, they will come.” Meaning the more resources we put towards homelessness, the more homeless will move here. Not saying we shouldn’t have shelters and resources just that its human nature to go where there are resources.
On the second point, yes, its a free country and people can move wherever they want. Many times, a change of scenery and people can be exactly what’s needed to rebuild. However, just for clarification, sales tax doesn’t even come close to covering the cost of the homeless. If each homeless person spends $1,000 per month in Boulder @ 9.1% sales tax, thats $91/mo * 450 people * 12 months or $491,000. In 2023 Boulder spent well over $4M on homelessness and this figure seemed to leave out quite a few indirect costs like clean up, courts, policing, etc. By those numbers, at a minimum each homeless person costs the community almost $5,000 vs the $1,000 of taxes they pay per year.
Boulder has certainly done its part over the decades to become more and more exclusive and, like the rest of CO, not implement policies that would rein in real estate speculation, and not prioritize housing in areas it made the most sense. So, Boulder citizens who have benefitted from that are not exempt from the fallout of people not being able to afford cost of rent. And your property taxes are a small component of the affordable housing funds administered by the city. You would pay those property taxes anyway, you just don’t want anything to go towards services for anyone else whom you deem unworthy.
That would be all well and good, if they were all harmless. I have had my life threatened on two separate occasions, completely unprovoked, by homeless people that were clearly on drugs. I’ve had a friend get mugged and curb stomped downtown near the creek, and another friend have his phone stolen by a homeless man who pretended his buddy was ODing to get him to take out his phone. I feel for the people who simply lost their jobs and couldn’t afford their homes anymore, but the key is to create social programs and raise wages to PREVENT that from happening in the first place, so then we can clear out the drug addled campers from the creek area with a good conscience. The issue is that there are harmless people living on the streets, as well as dangerous people taking advantage and destroying the nature, and we cannot treat these two categories the same way. People on both sides of this issue are just lumping them together, like homelessness is just ONE issue. It’s a symptom, and we need to treat the different causes differently.
As someone who travels regularly in every land of Boulder and seeing things in-person for my job (and my leisure for outdoor nature), I can say I have witnessed over 92% of camping occupied by criminals who are in a serious system of a drug ring, being both sellers and users. The reality is that the people and community of Boulder are not just kind folks, but smart folks, and the vote passed for a reason because our quiet and peaceful Boulder community is tired of getting straight-up bullied by the campers (it’s common to have to leave parks and family pathways because of people tweaking out and being aggressive, I even got stalked all the way to the car one time with my kids so they could do a drug deal by the playground.) We want to feel safe in our public spaces again for the children and elderly who walk around and see the truth that is. There are great Boulder resources for honest, good people who are experiencing financial hardships and faced with homelessness (my friend used them and got her and her daughters back on their feet). The reason why most people who refuse to use these resources and camp out instead, is because you are not allowed to use drugs in these places that offer homeless help. So they would rather camp out and do their drugs. This is the true reality. I applaud Boulder community and neighbors coming together to save our small town.
My sister was assaulted by a homeless person at the main Boulder bus station three years ago.
She was visiting from out of state and decided to take public transportation. The homeless person and another individual attempted to steal her bag and roughed her up in the process.
No bystanders would help her.
Why aren’t the non-profits and pro-bono lawyers advocating for her?
Good job, boulder.
I am sick of drunk, methed out rude homeless treating this town like a toilet and taking advantage of everyone’s good nature (and taxes). Most of our public spaces along the path are now giant encampments rife with drugs bottles needles etc. plenty of help is there for those who want it. That’s the carrot. Now it’s time for a stick for those who are ruining our public spaces. Move on. You’re not welcome.
To all those saying “have compassion” blah blah blah you are part of the problem. My guess is you have your heart in the right place but don’t interact with these people on a regular basis (as I do) and have no plans on doing so. Stop enabling this behavior at our expense. Take them into your house or back yard if you feel that strongly but don’t hold the rest of us hostage for wanting our spaces and safety back.
I think people come to Boulder to camp because you are near a national park It is also
a pretty town and they can visit the park or come into town for supplies. There is nothing wrong with this. People have the right to enjoy the outdoors. I think they should keep
their area clean but most homeless people are nice people. There are a few bad apples that spoil it for everyone. If someone puts their alcohol in a cup or they at least try to hide the beer can I do not care if they drink or not., as long as they throw the cans in the trash cans along the creek. People in houses drink too. Why do you always single out homeless people. They are like anyone else. I think giving people a 2,000 dollar ticket is too extreme a punishment. I also think 90 days in jail is too harsh. I understand not having big encampments, but if someone wants to use a sleeping bag or blanket to keep warm , I see not hing wrong with that. When I was in college I would
take a blanket and lie on it and read books in the summer. It kept my clothes from getting dirty and it helps you not get bugs. I think this law is a cruel law against poor and disabled people. I agree that the big camps are a safety issue and you should not camp or drink near a school, but there must be a compromise in here somewhere that would please both parties in this debate. I used to sleep out sometimes and it was alot
of fun. I did not trash my area. But sleeping outside a part of the Boulder experience.
I know. I have had them say and do bad things to me too. But, I had to remind myself that they are all not like that. I live in Longmont now. I hope I never have to be homeless again, but I can tell you it is a terrifying experience. I still think that two thousand dollars is to high of a ticket fine. And I think 90 days is to stiff jail time. We have a tradition in this country where the punishment should fit the crime. I think the punishment is too harsh for the crime. I could see a fifty dollar fine or three days in jail, but 90 days seems to be too strict a punishment to me. I also think that if it is 32 degrees or lower that a person should be able to get into a blanket or sleeping bag. A person can freeze to death in some of the winter temperatures in Boulder. If it were me and I was outside, and the temperature was below freezing, I would probably use a blanket or sleeping bag. I remember when people slept out in Bolder and there were not as many problems. I am not sure why problems have escalated in recent years. The same problems seem to exist in other areas of the country. I am not sure why. It could be the growing gap between the rich and poor, and the disappearance of the middle class. People may be more stressed now. There have always been problems in Boulder, but I do think things have gotten more violent in recent years. I see both sides, but I still think Boulder is being too strict. There needs to be a middle ground.