The City of Ithaca Advisory Committee on Encampment Response Policy has released an updated draft report reviewing and revising the Pilot Administrative Policy to Manage Homeless Encampments on City Property. “Encampments” are defined in the policy and generally refer to makeshift structures used for someone’s habitation. The report, available here, will be presented to Common Council on Thursday, ahead of a final vote scheduled for the May 7 meeting.
Originally shared with Common Council in March, the draft report has been revised based on feedback from a wide range of stakeholders—including elected officials, individuals with lived experience of homelessness, and representatives from local nonprofits and volunteer organizations. A timeline of the committee’s process and community engagement is included in the draft report.
The pilot administrative policy outlines procedures for addressing encampments on City-owned land and designates one 28-acre area as temporarily allowing encampments when local housing and shelter resources are not available. In 2024 the City responded to 20 encampments in non-designated areas, offering supportive services and assistance with relocation.
The updated draft report recommends refinements to the pilot administrative policy and proposes additional City actions to address unsheltered homelessness. Key recommendations include the establishment of a “navigation hub” facility to connect people with services, and improvements to public health and livability at the area that temporarily allows camping are being recommended – these proposals are detailed in the draft report.
City of Ithaca Deputy City Manager Dominick Recckio, chair of the advisory committee stated, “The recommendations being made in this report have the potential to improve the lives of our neighbors who are sleeping outside. We’ve incorporated feedback from people who work in the local homeless response system and people who have experienced homelessness firsthand. The report builds on years of efforts at City Hall, including the promising outcomes we saw in 2024. I’m grateful to the committee members for their thoughtful engagement and dedication to this effort.”
Liddy Bargar, committee member and Director of Housing Initiatives at the Human Services Coalition of Tompkins County commented, “Throughout our community between 2022-2024 there were an average of 65 individuals sleeping outside in July – the time of year that unsheltered homelessness typically peaks. While temporary camping areas are not the ultimate goal of our homeless response system, improving the areas that people are living and offering more dignified pathways to supportive services are things that the City can do to help people in the short term before more permanent housing and shelter beds are developed.”
