Longtime readers will know that we’ve covered homelessness extensively here at Charlottesville Tomorrow, and that while it may seem more visible these days, it’s not a new issue in our community.
During tonight’s City Council meeting, Charlottesville Police Chief Michael Kochis will present to the Council an “Ordinance on Camping and Storage on City Property.” If adopted as-is, the ordinance would ban sleeping, camping and storing any belongings in public areas. (Read the full text of the proposed ordinance on the city’s website.)
Violation of the ordinance would be considered a Class 4 misdemeanor and punishable by a fine, Kochis wrote in his policy briefing summary on the ordinance. Neither the summary nor the accompanying City of Charlottesville Homeless Encampment Response Protocol say how much that fine would be for, or what will happen if someone is unable to, or does not, pay the fine.
The reason for the ordinance, Kochis wrote, is “a marked increase in quality-of-life complaints in and around locations where unhoused community members are residing.” He mentions complaints of blocked sidewalks and rights-of-way, sanitation concerns, accumulation of personal belongings on public property, and says that they have affected surrounding neighborhoods and businesses.
“While these concerns must be addressed, the enforcement of this ordinance is intended to be carried out with care and understanding, recognizing the challenges faced by individuals experiencing homelessness,” Kochis continued.
And while the ordinance says that it will help connect unhoused people with services to help them, and the protocol document mentions that “nonprofit partners may assist with outreach,” it is unclear exactly what those services will be.
Tuesday afternoon, leaders from three local homelessness services nonprofits — The Haven, People and Congregations Engaged in Ministry (PACEM) and the Blue Ridge Area Coalition for the Homeless — opposed the ordinance in an open letter to Charlottesville City Council, City Manager Sam Sanders and Chief Kochis.
“Encampment bans do not end homelessness,” they wrote. “They simply push people further into the shadows, destabilizing lives and making it harder for outreach workers to connect individuals with housing and services.”
Year after year, homeless services providers tell city leaders that the community does not have enough shelter beds for the people who need them — especially as that number grows.
From June 2025: Unhoused population in Charlottesville area keeps growing, despite efforts from city and nonprofits
The city has two overnight shelters, and only one of them is permanent. Read more about the local shelter situation in this report from November 2024.
Kochis’ proposed ordinance comes about a week after Charlottesville Police relocated an encampment under the Free Bridge along the Rivanna River, as 29 News reported.
That’s not just happening locally. In July, President Donald Trump linked crime and homelessness and in August ordered law enforcement to start clearing encampments around Washington, D.C. Street Sense Media, a newsroom that reports on the lived experience of homelessness, has a report on what that’s been like for unhoused D.C. residents.
And last year, a Supreme Court ruling made it easier for local governments to fine, ticket and arrest people living outside, even when there is no adequate shelter available to them.
Kochis’ proposed ordinance for Charlottesville also comes at a time when the city has been trying to find, and has been funding, shelter and permanent housing solutions for unhoused community members — but none of those projects are close to being ready for guests or residents.
SupportWorks Housing, a nonprofit developer specializing in permanent supportive housing, is building the Vista29 project, 80 units of supportive housing on Premier Circle, just off Route 29 in Albemarle County.
Residents of supportive housing are most often single adults who have been chronically homeless. They sign a lease and live independently, but have access to an on-site case worker who can help them with everything from getting proper ID to looking for a job, from paying rent on time to addiction counseling. They can stay as long as they need.
New supportive housing could certainly help. The last time SupportWorks (then called Virginia Supportive Housing) opened a community in Charlottesville — The Crossings at Fourth and Preston — in March 2012, it cut the number of people experiencing chronic homelessness by half in just two years, Anthony Haro, former director of the Blue Ridge Area Coalition for the Homeless, told City Council in May 2022. Read more about The Crossings in this report:
From February 2024: As chronic homelessness rises in the Charlottesville area, one type of housing that can help has been delayed because of rising construction costs
But Vista29 won’t be online for a while. It is on track to be finished in November 2026, Julie Anderson, director of real estate development for SupportWorks, told Charlottesville Tomorrow in an email Tuesday afternoon. While construction is now underway, the project had faced numerous delays due to rising construction costs.
Other projects intended to help unhoused community members aren’t as far along.
The Salvation Army (the city’s only permanent overnight shelter) is currently planning a $28 million expansion of its shelter, which would increase its number of beds from 55 to 114. But that project is years away from completion.
And, the city has been trying to find a location for a permanent overnight low-barrier shelter — but hasn’t decided on one yet.
In October 2023, Charlottesville City Manager Sam Sanders presented a “homeless intervention strategy” to City Council, and a year after that revealed a plan for a low-barrier shelter, in collaboration with The Salvation Army, in Fifeville.
Right away, some residents were concerned about the plan, mostly in regards to safety. But as some residents started warming up to the idea, there were questions about whether or not The Salvation Army would even be able to run the kind of shelter the city manager wants to open.
Council isn’t likely to vote on Kochis’ ordinance tonight, but as councilors consider it, I’m thinking about a shelter that our community had and lost. PACEM ran it, and helped nearly 100 people off the streets in the two years it existed. I invite you to read my report on it — I spent months getting to know some of PACEM’s guests, and the staff that help them.
With all of these to-be-completed projects and the proposed ordinance on my mind, I’m also thinking about a conversation I had earlier this year with Mary Frances Kenion, vice president of training and technical assistance for the National Alliance to End Homelessness.
Maybe she’s clairvoyant, or (more likely) maybe she just knows how this goes after more than 15 years of expertise in creating homelessness response services, but this is how she ended our interview:
“I think many communities don’t necessarily want tents or encampments in front of their business district or downtown or main street, so what do we do if we can’t provide shelter and we can’t get them to housing? What is the alternative?”
She answered her own question: Implement strategies grounded in evidence, ones that are known to reduce homelessness substantially, and with compassion.
Look out for a report about the ordinance from me in the coming days, and until then, take care of yourselves and one another out there.
Erin O’Hare, Neighborhoods Reporter
Take action
Have your say on proposed ordinance banning camping on Charlottesville City property
Charlottesville City Council will discuss the ordinance at its regular business meeting at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 2. The meeting will be held in City Council Chambers, located in City Hall at 605 E. Main St. and is open to the public. The meeting will be live streamed on the city’s media channel and on the city’s YouTube channel. In-person attendees can speak during the “Matters from the Public” portion of the meeting; virtual attendees who wish to speak can register to attend via Zoom and submit their questions here.
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