Quick tweet storm on the Homeless Camping disaster in Austin.
#ATXCouncil
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In June, with almost no public input, the Austin City Council changed a city ordinance that would allow homeless people to sleep and camp in public places, to take effect on July 1. They then took a five week vacation.
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Since July 1, the results have been absolutely disastrous for Austin. The Mayor and the City Council left the Austin police to deal with the mess they created. They promised to look st the policy in August. But they never put it on the agenda & never reconsidered the policy.
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Austin has never been worse than it is today. Homeless people are everywhere, camping with tents and mattresses in public, in front of restaurants and hotels, in front of condo buildings, and in prohibited areas like parks. And not just in downtown. It’s everywhere.
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Why would they pursue such a ridiculous policy? Their stated goal was to “decriminalize homeless existence”. I don’t doubt their intentions. But the results have been catastrophic.
Public safety, public health and tourism have all been made worse.
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Where does the human waste go? That was never considered. Where does the public litter go? A person can only be ticketed for littering if a police officer witnesses it. What about theft of shopping carts? Same thing. Trash is everywhere. A vibrant downtown is a disaster zone.
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On July 17, I launched an online petition to rescind the Homeless Camping ordinance.
The petition is located st SaveAustinNowPetition.com.
In roughly one month, with zero paid advertising, we’ve surpassed 27,000 signatures with no signs of slowing down.
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I launched the online petition to allow Austin residents to easily express their views on this issue.
The response has been incredible.
The 27,000+ signers are from every zip code, every neighborhood, every demographic group and cross all ideological and partisan lines.
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I’ve lived in Austin since 1984 (except for 9 years in DC after college).
I’ve never seen a local issue cause such broad & intense opposition in Austin.
Austinites hate this policy change. They don’t think it makes our city better.
So far, City Hall hasn’t listened.
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This issue is harming the image of Austin. Our economy relies on tourism.
Yesterday a downtown official said we are losing conventions and business events and meetings due to this policy change.
Tourists have been shocked how bad downtown is now. The word is out.
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Today The Washington Post reported on our homeless crisis.
google.com/amp/s/beta.was…
This is happening as new hotels and condo buildings are being built and the city hopes to double the size of the convention center.
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Major events are central to Austin’s economy. UT home football games, ACL Festival, SXSW, F1, and much, much more.
Austin is a hip city. Will it still be seen that way?
Why would City Hall jeopardize the economic engine that downtown represents?
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Mayor Adler rationalizes the policy by saying he is “tired of moving people around” and “wasting taxpayers dollars”.
So how have we been spending $30M/year on homelessness?
What is the plan if we double that amount to $60M?
There is no accounting of the $30M and no plan.
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We have about 800 beds currently. We have about 2,200 homeless people. We need 1,400 more beds. Can we not spend $22,000 per person to build that housing? Can we use current city property?
We can’t wait for new housing while Homeless Camping continues.
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I wrote a guest column for @statesman a couple weeks ago that lays out why Homeless Camping isn’t working and what I think we should do.
google.com/amp/s/www.stat…
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My plan:
1) Isolate those w/ mental health problems, get them off the steeets and provide treatment.
2) Isolate those w/ a drug and alcohol abuse problem, get them off the streets and get them treatment.
3) Everyone else needs shelter, work, and a path to self sufficency.
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How to evaluate Austin’s track record? Here are two troubling examples:
The ARCH downtown is the most dangerous block in the city. It must be relocated immediately.
Now a new shelter has been proposed in S Austin with zero local input near 3 schools at a cost of $8M.
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City leaders should be commended for eliminating veteran homelessness entirely and cutting in half child homelessness. I agree with Mayor Adler that those efforts must be scaled.
But not while this disastrous Camping Ordinance is in place ruining Austin.
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After refusing to reconsider this policy during August, it appears they will consider it at the Sept 19 council meeting.
The problem is 50k college students just returned. We have three home football games before then & ACL around the corner.
The violence will get worse.
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City leaders are not acting with urgency. They are needlessly endangering our police and our citizens. A majority of residents see this policy as a disaster.
It must be repealed. Immediately.
I am starting a new nonpartisan nonprofit, Save Austin Now, to wage this battle.
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What can Austin residents do?
Email Mayor Adler (saveaustinnow.com/email-mayor-ad…) and your council member (saveaustinnow.com/email-council).
Sign the petition at SaveAustinNowPetition.com.
Share the petition on Next Door and Facebook.
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Soon we will be launching a petition to put this before the voters in May 2020. That’s the next opportunity. We will need 20,000 signatures and it will take significant fundraising and volunteer assistance. Stay tuned.
I am committed to fighting this battle until we win.
END
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