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Avon has strengthened its ability to charge those living in town without a home, including van dwellers and campers, with a criminal offense.

On Tuesday, unanimously approved updates to its laws that limit camping on public and private property. The old version of the laws had not seen a revision since 1979, and Avon police officers found their tenuous language difficult to enforce. 

The update comes in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling on the in June, which permitted all municipalities to charge those sleeping in public places with a criminal offense. Formerly, municipalities without alternative housing options, like homeless shelters, were not allowed to implement camping bans.

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Eagle County does not have alternative housing options, and the cost of housing is notoriously high. Last year, there were just 25 homes sold for under $500,000 countywide. This is a dramatic decline from 2020 when there were 451.

Avon has made the cultivation and development of a range of community housing options a priority, but it is an endeavor that takes time.

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The nearest locations to Eagle County with adequate resources to assist people who need housing are in Grand Junction and Denver. Eagle County has a small Homeless Services team, but there are little to no local housing options in which to place people.

The council’s approval of the revised camping laws comes after it reviewed the 45-year-old laws in August and again in January.

During the January meeting, Chief of Police Greg Daly emphasized that allowing unhoused people to live in Avon helps no one.

“The reality is, this is a very harsh climate for someone to try and live in a tent,” Daly said. “We’re genuinely concerned about their health and safety.”

“We are not resourced. This county is not resourced. We have so many available housing challenges for the people who live and work here,” Daly said. “To try and accommodate other people, we’re just not big enough to do that.”

What do Avon’s updated camping laws prohibit?

Avon’s updated laws prohibit camping on public property “within any park, parkway, recreation area, open space or other Town property,” including public streets, sidewalks, parking spaces and alleys, or on any structure in these places, without permission from the town manager or chief of police.

Camping is defined as “resid(ing) or temporarily dwell(ing) in a place, with shelter.” Banned forms of shelter include “a tent, tarpaulin lean-to, sleeping bag, bedroll, blankets, vehicle or any other form of protection from the elements other than clothing.”

Camping on private property in Avon requires the consent of the property owner or authorized agent and is only allowed for a maximum of two nights within one month.

What about permitting van dwellers?

The updated laws — as well as the old laws — include van dwelling as a prohibited form of camping.

Community member Elizabeth Niotis urged the Avon Town ߣÏÈÉú to reexamine the ordinance and permit van dwellers to camp in some areas of town.

Niotis suggested the town look into Summit County’s more permissive van camping laws, which support the community’s residents and workers who cannot afford housing due to the exorbitant costs of home ownership.

The issue, Town Attorney Nina Williams said, is that Avon’s public parking areas are too small to host a community of van dwellers. “You just don’t have that property in Avon,” she said. “There is no public place where vans would be able to congregate.”

“I’m sympathetic to van life,” said Eric Heil, town manager. “For Avon, we’re pretty congested. We all know that we have parking issues. I really don’t see a place on town property where we’re going to be able to allow it where it’s not going to have issues.”

The most likely locations where the town might allow van dwellers — parking around Harry A. Nottingham Park, the Avon Recreation Center, the Avon Public Library and Avon Town Hall — are all small lots or bays that could not easily accommodate an overnight community, Heil said. Most of the private companies that own the larger lots around town are also averse to overnight parking.

“It’s not a bad idea. I just don’t see a place in Avon where we would give private property our permission, or it would work on land that the town owns,” Heil said.

If the town were to designate a certain area for van dwellers, it would need to be formulated like a campground and include toilets, Heil said.

Following council direction, the town’s community development department will work with Williams’ firm to learn more about Summit County’s efforts.

ߣÏÈÉú member Lindsay Hardy asked for there to be a discussion in the future after town staff has time to communicate with Summit County about its laws for van dwellers. “Keep an open mind here, I think it would be valuable,” she said.

Mayor Pro Tem Rich Carroll asked town staff to connect with Eagle County staff, as well.

“Maybe the town of Avon doesn’t have anything that’s applicable (for van dwelling) but maybe some of the surrounding area around us might,” he said. “Maybe there’s an opportunity somewhere in Eagle County for this to occur.”

The updated camping laws will take effect 30 days after the Feb. 11 approval.