Austin Council Member Advocates for Easing Cleanup Burdens on Private Property Owners

Austin Council Member Advocates for Easing Cleanup Burdens on Private Property Owners

A homeless encampment clean-up initiative spearheaded by Council Member Mackenzie Kelly in North Austin could alleviate the financial efforts shouldered by private property owners. A five-hour cleanup event yielded numerous insights leading to a motion for more substantial community aid.

A Daunting Task for Property Owners

According to Kelly, the two prominent lessons learned during the cleanup were the abhorrent conditions experienced by individuals in homelessness and the burden on property owners to clean such environments. Property owners in the Lake Creek Park area, she narrates, face the daunting task of paying tens of thousands of dollars to clean out the abandoned homeless camps in their green belt. This burden is recurrent as the camps resurface after cleanup.

A Five Million Dollar Initiative Insufficient

While the City of Austin has earmarked over $5 million for homeless camp cleanups and related programs, these funds do not cater to neighborhoods affected by the trespassing of homeless individuals onto private properties. As the Home Owners Association president for Lake Creek Park, Beverly Schlegel, endorse the initiative citing the difficulty they’ve had keeping their community clean and safe.

Resolution for Additional Resources

Kelly’s efforts to clean abandoned homeless camps have inspired her to push for a resolution providing additional aid from the City to such neighbourhoods. She acknowledges the seemingly unending crisis these property owners face and believes their predicament should be addressed at the municipal level. This resolution, however, requires support from other council members in order to make it to the city council’s agenda and potentially bring relief to property owners burdened with the recurrent issue of homeless encampment cleanups.

Home Should Not Be a Burden

The issue of homelessness and its aftermath is a crisis that continues to burden individuals and communities alike. With initiatives like these, City authorities may be able to alleviate some of these burdens and foster a more inclusionary environment where the need for homelessness is effectively addressed, and property owners are not left to shoulder the after-effects. Council Member Kelly’s efforts should set a precedent for other City officials to adopt more inclusionary policies and initiatives.