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New Clark County camping ban allows for jail time for repeat offenders

Updated February 3, 2025 - 12:42 pm

A camping ban in Clark County that affects the homeless community who loiter or sleep on public spaces went into effect Saturday.

The ordinance — which bans camping in places such as trails, parks, underpasses, washes and tunnels — was approved by the County Commission on Nov. 5.

The law allows for jail punishment of up to 10 days for repeat offenders who refuse social services.

A person would first be told about the ban and directed to available services and shelter space.

They will be given the chance to move. However, if they return to the same spot, they can be cited or arrested, according to the ordinance.

The ordinance allows officials to impound personal property from penalized persons, which they would be able to retrieve.

The law will not be enforced if there’s no public shelter space available, unlike in the city of Las Vegas.

A day after county commissioners greenlit the ban, the City Council voted to strengthen its own ordinance, which excluded a provision that made it unenforceable if there were no open shelter beds.

The city cited a U.S. Supreme Court ruling last year which declared camping bans constitutional. Henderson also has a camping ban.

County officials have said that more housing and services to ease the homelessness crisis are in the works.

Gov. Joe Lombardo said last month that a $200 million public-private partnership to combat the issue in Southern Nevada was moving forward.

Through the 2023 Legislature, Nevada committed $100 million to help build a 26-acre transitional housing complex at West Charleston and South Jones boulevards in Las Vegas. The resort industry pledged to match the funds.

Meanwhile, Clark County announced last month that it was delaying its yearly, daylong homeless census, which is usually conducted in January, until 2026.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, which requires the census for certain federal grants, reported that the census last year counted 771,480 homeless Americans in 2024, an 18 percent year-over-year increase and the highest number “ever reported.”

The Southern Nevada Continuum of Care, an inter-agency coalition, uses the findings of the local census to inform local governments about the state of its services.

Volunteers in 2024 counted 7,906 sheltered and unsheltered homeless persons in Southern Nevada, a 20 percent increase over the previous year and the highest figure in a decade.

The 4,202 people tallied living in the streets represented a 7 percent year-over-year increase.

A 40 percent increase of persons identified in shelters indicated that an “expansion of shelter access” has led to more people benefiting from social services, according to the county.

The county said that delaying the Point in Time Count will allow for further planning.

“This biennial approach offers several advantages,” the county said. “This includes a greater dedication of time and resources to implement and evaluate effective homeless intervention strategies.”

The county said that the Continuum of Care will determine the frequency of future counts after the 2026 census.

Contact Ricardo Torres-Cortez at rtorres@reviewjournal.com.

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