As Reno and Sparks are dealing with a crippling housing affordability crisis, it seems that our leaders believe criminalizing homelessness is the answer.
On Wednesday (January 22, 2025), the Reno City Council is expected to enact a series of controversial ordinances which target the most vulnerable members of our community. Agenda items F1-F6 promise to punitively punish Renoites for
- Sitting
- Laying Down
- Loitering
- Sleeping
- Placing furniture
- Cooking
- Digging Holes
in “public places,” including along the Truckee River corridor.
Why This Matters
Like many American cities facing affordability crises, Reno is home to many individuals experiencing homelessness. Especially during these winter months, daily life can be a cold, bitter struggle to survive. Shelters are full; others are unsafe and/or inaccessible. Denying our neighbors access to our sidewalks, parks, and doorways— the bare minimum we can provide — is a cruel form of punishment that should be morally below us as a community.
Most of these individuals did not choose this difficult lifestyle. Reno’s elite bulldozed the cheap motels that provided transitional housing. They sold empty lots and public land to developers who built luxury apartments and deluxe single family houses. They offered tax breaks to wealthy corporate developers who have broken promises and failed to deliver affordable housing alternatives for our community. Reno sold homes out from under our neighbors and cashed the checks, and now they want to morally bankrupt our city.
Unanswered Questions RSTU Poses to the City Council
- What alternative policies were considered before these?
- How much will these policies cost the city, and why are they exempt from a business impact analysis?
- Where will these people go?
- How do these policies make anyone “safer?”
Common Sense Alternatives
- Reform municipal code to address housing affordability and improve access to attainable housing.
- Implement a “Housing First” program, similar to a successful program in Charlotte, NC.
- Improve services offered to homeless people.
Washoe County has Unsuccessfully Tried Similar Policies
In March 2024, Washoe County commissioners passed a controversial ordinance that criminalizes various activities associated with homelessness. The ordinance makes it illegal to camp, sleep in a car, park an RV, or make a campfire on public lands within the county. Additionally, it is now a misdemeanor to camp on county-owned property, within 1,000 feet of the Truckee River, live in vehicles on county-owned property or public spaces, obstruct public sidewalks, and solicit within 15 feet of a road or highway.
Not only did these laws exacerbate existing problems in our community by making it more difficult for housing-insecure people to access housing and services, these laws made no progress towards providing transitional housing options for our community. Punishing individuals for merely existing does not address the root causes of their situation, nor does it provide a pathway to having a home again. “Out of sight, out of mind” is not how we should be treating our most vulnerable neighbors.
We Need Your Help to Fight Back
The Reno Sparks Tenants Union is recruiting renters, volunteers, donors, and community leaders to join the fight for safe, dignified, and affordable housing for everyone. We invite you to get involved and follow us on Instagram and Facebook to keep up with the latest news affecting renters in Reno.