Denver’s councilmembers will decide tonight whether to ban homeless encampment sweeps when temperatures fall below 32 degrees, a move that Mayor Mike Johnston opposes.

The council gave the proposal preliminary approval last week, when a few councilmembers voted against advancing it and others showed hesitation to move it forward.

The vote is happening as a cold snap, which plunged temperatures to subzero in the last several days, is expected to leave metro Denver today. 

Opponents, including Johnston, said it would cause a variety of issues by limiting what the city could do, while proponents argued officials should wait until warmer weather before shutting down an encampment because warmer places are not always available for homeless people to move into.   

“Mayor Johnston’s first priority is keeping Denverites safe and healthy,” a mayor’s office spokesperson told The Denver Gazette last week. “We know that cold temperatures pose a serious danger to people living outdoors, and this proposal will limit the actions the city can take to keep people safe.”

Under the ordinance, the city may execute an encampment sweep as long as the National Weather Service predicts 32 degrees or above for four hours straight on the day of a planned encampment sweep.

The sweep would be delayed if the National Weather Service reports temperatures below 32 degrees in the previous 48 hours.

If an encampment sweep gets delayed, another seven-day notice would be given to the homeless people living there, according to a spokesperson from the Department of Public Safety.

The goal is to “move people only during warming periods,” at-large Councilmember Sarah Parady said during a previous council meeting.

Four councilmembers sponsored the bill: Parady, Shontel Lewis, Paul Kashmann and Council President Jamie Torres

“I think this bill helps the life and safety factor for those living in tents who we are asking to move around in freezing temperatures,” Torres told The Denver Gazette. “We don’t always have a warm place to move people when we do sweeps. We can wait to make those moves to a time and date that don’t compromise them to risks of extremely cold weather.”

The Denver Department of Public Health & Environment can override ordinance language if officials feel it is necessary, according to Torres.

Four councilmembers balked at the proposal: Amanda Sawyer, Diana Romero-Campbell, Darrell Watson and Kevin Flynn.

“There will be very few opportunities in the winter months to address very real and life-threatening conditions in encampments simply because of the thermometer,” Flynn told The Denver Gazette, adding the goal is to get people indoors, which “this bill unnecessarily stands in the way.”

District 9 Councilmember Darrell Watson said the ordinance would complicate efforts for outreach teams going out to provide resources during cold weather spurts.

One resident, Dawn McNulty, said the proposal would cause “alarming public health and safety implications.”

Critics fear that hampering the city’s ability to shut down encampments means exposing people to frostbite, lack of food or resources, theft, crime and mental health issues during frigid weather.