This ordinance would ban camping, fires, and oversized vehicles on public property.

On Tuesday, the Washoe County Sheriff's Office spoke with the Washoe County Board of County Commissioners about a camping ordinance.

The City of Sparks is enhancing its camping ordinance to ban camping in public places within a thousand feet of the Truckee River.

The City of Reno also has an ordinance that limits people camping on public property, but Washoe County does not, and some leaders are looking to change that.

WCSO met with the county commissioners back in December of 2022 to get an ordinance enacted.

However, the board told the office to meet with stakeholders and members of the community to create a better plan for how to implement it.

"Also, we got there because the public told us it was the most important thing to them in our last public survey," said Chief Deputy Corey Solferino, WCSO.

The Sheriff's Office says with Reno and Sparks having these ordinances, it's pushing the homeless outside of the Reno-Sparks corridor. 

Homeless camps are up east of Sparks towards USA Parkway and west to the Verdi and Mogul Area.

The Sheriff's Office is hoping the ordinance will get them back closer to resources, but some say they don't think that'll be the case.

"I don't understand how this ordinance does not push people out past the county jurisdiction," said Amy during the public comment portion of the board meeting.

The ordinance would ban camping on county-owned property and public places within one thousand feet of the Truckee River.

In addition to camping, it would ban fires, propane tanks, and parking any oversized vehicles on public property.

Some in opposition say it's simply adding to the problem.

"So, I think these ordinances clearly target people without housing and they're criminalizing certain situations such as living in a car and overall, I think criminalizing those who are unhoused are a waste of government and law enforcement resources," said Tia Smith, Policy Counsel for the ACLU Nevada.

Last year, Washoe County's HOPE Team made 1,005 contacts with the unhoused.

Of that, 943 accepted services and 62 did not.

The Sheriff's Office claims that they're hoping to not increase arrests or put more people in jail.

Solferino says they want to take a more compassionate approach, but the ordinance is to keep people accountable.

"That's why we need the misdemeanor charge," Solferino said. "We need that deterrent effect. We need that classification to give them something to hang over their head. To give these service resistant individuals the gentle nudge they need towards services."

The Sheriff's Office is proposing a public hearing for a second reading and possible adoption of the ordinance on March 12.Â