MANSFIELD — City Council 5th Ward representative Aurelio Diaz announced Wednesday he plans to push lawmakers to table proposed legislation that would ban camping in the downtown district.
In his announcement, Diaz cited community feedback and delays in expanding local homeless shelter capacity.
The proposed ordinance, which would add Section 521.17 to the Mansfield Codified Ordinances, is scheduled for a second reading Wednesday night.
In its current form, the law would prohibit people from establishing temporary or permanent living accommodations in outdoor public spaces or unpermitted private property across the downtown Central Business District.
Penalties would escalate under a tiered structure, starting as a minor misdemeanor and rising to higher-degree misdemeanors for repeat offenses within a 12-month period.
Diaz said he hosted five community meetings since council’s last session, gathering input from faith leaders, business operators, social service providers and homeless residents.
“As you can imagine, there was a lot of shared informationand perspectives to combat homelessness and camping, as well as concerns with the legislation,” Diaz said.
“Based on the conversations that I’ve [had] in recent weeks, and the Wayfinders Ohio relocation still not finalized, I plan to encourage the tabling of this legislation,” he said.
Local emergency shelter Wayfinders Ohio is working to relocate from its 56-bed facility at 124 W. Third St. to an 80-bed shelter at 661 Park Ave. East.
The renovation project has received more than $890,000 in federal American Rescue Plan Act funds through the city of Mansfield, with completion anticipated near the end of the year.
Supporters of the proposed ordinance have noted it includes safeguards. Under the measure, sitting, resting or using a blanket solely for warmth would not qualify as camping without observable actions such as pitching tents, laying down bedding, storing cooking gear or starting fires.
Police officers would also be required to identify themselves, explain violations and offer a reasonable chance to comply before making arrests or issuing citations.
In his statement, Diaz credited the collaborative work of the Mansfield/Richland County Homeless Response Task Force and the Richland County Coalition on Housing and Homelessness, highlighting the street outreach pairing social workers with police officers.
“Concerns from downtown businesses regarding camping are relayed to me and when there are concerns, the Mansfield Police Department properly redirects individuals,” Diaz said. “Fortunately, those concerns have been conveyed far less than they were years ago.”
Diaz said the community’s primary focus should center on establishing transitional housing and coordinating existing social services, rather than moving forward immediately with punitive rules.
“The biggest question is what we do to bring all of our community resources together to increase outreach, but most importantly, go the distance to creating transitional housing,” Diaz said.
The councilman noted that community partners are eager to draft a collective action plan.
“From the community conversations, we have identified individuals and agencies – dedicated partners, who are eager to collectively create an action plan that will include all of us. I would be happy to facilitate that conversation,” Diaz said.
A final reading and vote on the measure had tentatively been set for Nov. 17. Council caucus is scheduled to begin Wednesday night at 7 p.m.
