(The Center Square) – The Tacoma City Council is set to vote next week on revisions to the city’s public camping ordinance, expanding restricted areas while reducing certain buffer zones outside of the downtown area.
Ordinance 29064, introduced by Tacoma City Councilmember John Hines, would revise sections of the city’s municipal code governing public camping.
If approved, the ordinance would establish a two-block buffer zone around public schools, parks and libraries. Earlier drafts of the bill proposed a five-block radius, but that was reduced following council discussions
Hines’ proposal addresses a resurgence of homeless encampments in areas with reduced buffer zones. He noted that people who are found camping in these zones will be considered for referral to therapeutic court if they qualify.
In 2022, the Tacoma City Council approved an ordinance banning camping and the storage of personal belongings in a 10-block radius around temporary shelters.
According to Hines, the buffer was established to create space around the city’s temporary shelters so that homeless people could freely access them.
“Back in 2022 when we first put up the buffers, one of the reasons why we were doing it was the idea that we did not want encampments right next to where people were getting shelter and services,” Hines explained during Tuesday night’s city council meeting. “That posed a health and safety issue not only for the people coming into our shelters, but the people living in encampments.”
If Ordinance 29064 passes, buffers around shelters outside of Tacoma’s downtown core would shrink from the established 10-block radius to five blocks. This is being proposed as a result of three Tacoma emergency shelters concluding operations over the summer due to funding cuts.
As for emergency shelters within Tacoma’s downtown area, the prohibition of camping and the storage of personal belongings on public property would be set within 10 blocks of a shelter.
Since implementing the original public camping prohibition, Ordinance 28831, the city was able to remove 776 encampments in the prohibited areas. Tacoma’s Homeless Engagement and Alternatives Team has also been able to refer supportive services and shelters to more than 3,300 people in prohibited areas since implementation began, with a 64% acceptance rate, according to the proposed bill.
The ordinance is expected to be voted on at the city council’s next full meeting on Oct. 21.
In the 2025 Point-in-Time count for Pierce County, 2,955 people were counted as experiencing homelessness, an 11% increase from 2024.
