The City of Sparks is prohibiting any camping on some of its more common areas. While camping is already prohibited in many areas, the city council voted to expand this ordinance due to public concerns.
Some of the areas that have been added are the Truckee River Corridor, public parks, city-owned parking lots, the Sparks Marina, and Victorian Square.
Tim Fagundes, a Sparks resident, says he's glad to hear the city is taking more initiative.
"I'm all for it. I mean - I understand that there's homeless and stuff like that, but we have shelters and stuff. I mean a lot of these people come out and they're just destroying it," he says.
Fagundes says he has frequently visited Rock Park over the last 30 years and it's a pretty common area to find homeless people camping out.
He tells us he and his wife are constantly finding themselves cleaning up after them: "They leave their garbage everywhere. The rivers are getting nasty."
Sparks City Attorney Wes Duncan says a lot of businesses in the Victorian Square have also been seeing more encampments, which can lead to serious safety and health risks.
Duncan says, "Blocking egress, ingress into businesses, being there at all times at night, of course we've also seen things like public urination and those types of things."
As a result, city council voted to expand their ordinance.
However, Duncan says they're prioritizing health and safety - not just for businesses and tourists, but also for people in need.
Sparks Police has a special program called the Homeless Outreach Proactive Engagement—also known as HOPE Team—that focuses on helping those experiencing homelessness.
Sergeant Dustin Butler says, "We're definitely resource-driven first. The ordinance - yes, it is a misdemeanor, but usually 95% or more of our contacts are resource-based. We don't cite or arrest unless we absolutely have to."
Butler says they help offer services like shelters, food banks, mental health organizations, and more.
