• videocam Live Webinar with Live Q&A
  • calendar_month November 17, 2026 @ 1:00 PM ET/10:00 AM PT
  • signal_cellular_alt Intermediate
  • card_travel Government
  • schedule 90 minutes

Homeless Encampment Enforcement After Grants Pass: Ordinances, ADA Claims, Due Process, and Municipal Risk

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Discount expires 11/3/26

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About the Course

Introduction

This CLE webinar will examine the drafting, revision, and enforcement of public camping and homeless encampment ordinances following City of Grants Pass v. Johnson. The panel will discuss the scope of local authority following the decision and how counsel may address ongoing legal challenges related to possible ADA claims, due process, property handling, shelter capacity, public safety, and municipal liability.

Description

Grants Pass shifted the legal landscape for cities and counties looking to regulate camping, sleeping, and encampments on public property. The decision gave local governments wider latitude in addressing public-space management, safety, sanitation, and access. However, Grants Pass did not eliminate the federal, state, constitutional, and practical limits to enforcement. Municipal counsel must assess and minimize these legal risks when local agencies develop ordinances, policies, and procedures.

Defense of an encampment response may turn on ordinance structure, assessment of time, place, and manner restrictions, possible imposed penalties, agency enforcement discretion, compliance alternatives, and the execution of notice, outreach, property storage, and coordination among departments and service providers.

Listen as our panel discusses public encampment regulation after Grants Pass, including the legal framework, ordinance/policy design, enforcement procedures, property handling, shelter and public-safety issues, and strategies to abate litigation risk while retaining authority.

Presented By

Niya K. Kelly, MA, JD
Director of State Legislative Policy, Equity, and Transformation
Law Project of the Chicago Coalition to End Homelessness

Ms. Kelly is Director of State Legislative Policy, Equity, and Transformation at Law Project of the Chicago Coalition to End Homelessness.

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Tiara N. Ross
Councilmember; Chair, Housing, Homelessness & Building Committee; Vice Chair, Public Safety & Criminal Justice Committee
Columbus City Council

Ms. Ross is a proud Columbus native and lifelong advocate for safe, thriving neighborhoods across the city. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Strategic Communication from The Ohio State University, graduating cum laude, before completing her Juris Doctor at OSU’s Moritz College of Law in 2012. Ms. Ross has been a licensed attorney in Ohio for more than a decade. In 2018, she joined Columbus City Attorney Zach Klein’s office as an Assistant City Attorney. In that role, Ms. Ross worked directly on the front lines of neighborhood stabilization, litigating fair housing violations and tackling nuisance properties that contributed to crime and blight in Columbus communities. She was elected to Columbus City Council in November 2025.

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Kyle Voils
Senior Attorney
Law Project of the Chicago Coalition to End Homelessness

Mr. Voils is a Senior Attorney at Law Project of the Chicago Coalition to End Homelessness.

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Credit Information

  • This 90-minute webinar is eligible in most states for 1.5 CLE credits.


  • Live Online


    On Demand

Date + Time

  • event

    Tuesday, November 17, 2026

  • schedule

    1:00 PM ET/10:00 AM PT

I. Legal landscape after Grants Pass

A. Local authority to regulate public camping/encampments

B. Federal, state, and constitutional limits to enforcement

C. Practical effect upon cities and counties after Grants Pass

II. Ordinance and policy design

A. Ordinance structure, public-purpose findings, and enforcement standards

B. Time, place, and manner restrictions

C. Penalties, discretion, and compliance considerations

III. Enforcement and implementation

A. Notice, outreach, and removal procedures

B. Property handling, storage, and retrieval

C. Agency coordination: law enforcement, public works, public health, service providers

IV. Litigation risk and counsel's role

A. ADA, due process, property, excessive fines, and related claims

B. Shelter capacity, designated areas, public safety, and emergency circumstances

C. Documentation, training, communications, and policy updates

The panel will explore these and other key issues:

  • What authority do local governments have to regulate public camping and encampments after Grants Pass?
  • What federal, state, constitutional, and practical limits affect enforcement?
  • How should municipalities structure ordinances, public-purpose findings, enforcement standards, and time, place, and manner restrictions?
  • How should local governments address penalties, discretion, diversion, and compliance alternatives?
  • What notice, outreach, removal, property storage, and retrieval procedures should counsel consider?
  • How should agencies coordinate encampment response?
  • How do ADA, due process, property, excessive fines, shelter capacity, designated areas, and public safety issues affect litigation risk?
  • What documentation, training, communications, and policy update practices can help reduce municipal exposure?