Des Moines' behind-the-scenes struggle to address homelessness
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Before the City Council adopted public sleeping and camping bans last month, Des Moines' municipal staff proposed other policy options that the city didn't publicize, according to documents obtained by Axios.
Why it matters: Some of these ideas, including a tiny home village, repurposing a big box store for temporary housing and authorizing the rotation of campsites throughout the city, are still viable and should be considered, officials tell Axios.
State of play: Enforcement of the new bans remain on hold until the city meets a series of council directives — including hiring more outreach workers to assist unsheltered people.
- Last month, Councilperson Josh Mandelbaum, who voted against the bans, urged his colleagues to table them and explore the transitional solutions instead.
- He told Axios last week that some of the previous ideas merit community input.
Catch up quick: DSM leaders have faced pressure for years to do more to address problems associated with the metro's unsheltered population.
- Meanwhile, the number of unhoused people and illegal local camping have escalated in recent months.
- Some advocates and officials, including Mandelbaum, have protested that the camping and sleeping bans could worsen problems and open the city to legal challenges.
Inside the room: A December memo distributed to some council members by Amber Lewis, DSM's homelessness policy administrator, called out wide gaps in city services for these residents, according to emails reviewed by Axios.
- A lack of beds for people with long-term disabilities and a high need for additional family housing were among the deficits identified.
- Shelters were operating on overflow with people sleeping on chairs or mats, she noted.
City staff outlined potential solutions in later memos, with warnings about their possible implementation problems.
- A tiny home village potentially located a mile south of the DSM International Airport, for example, would not be served by bus or sidewalks.
- Rotating tent cities invite "NIMBY" (Not in My Back Yard) pushback from multiple neighborhoods, the memos warned.
- Plus: Acquiring and retrofitting a large building would come with significant costs.
Zoom in: The Council did recently direct the city manager to review some of the options outlined in the December memos, including one for Pallet shelters, small modular homes used by other states as transitional housing.
- That review also included the possibility of sanctioning certain short-term campsites including allowing churches to host them.
Yes, but: There are no initiatives underway to develop the other ideas outlined last year like retrofitting a building, Lewis tells Axios.
- The tiny village option could be explored if a nonprofit group comes forward to identify and operate a site, she said.
What's next: A ban enforcement date has not been set, assistant city manager Malcolm Hankins tells Axios.