Fairfax has rejected a permit for a camp of homeless people at Peri Park.

“We need a place to have a tent to keep us warm and dry, to store food, water, medication, paperwork, as well as beds,” camper Shaylee Koontz said in the petition. “We will need this on a continuous basis until we are able to get housing.”

About five people live in the camp. The town received the permit application in mid-January. Town Manager Heather Abrams said the request was denied because of a lack of police protection.

Municipal code states that it is unlawful for anyone other than town staff to go into parks, playgrounds, public tennis courts and the central ballfield between sunset and sunrise without permission.

However, permission could be granted provided there is “sufficient police protection or adult supervision to avoid malicious conduct,” according to the code, adopted in 2009.

Koontz said the application met the standard because the campers are adults and the park is near the police station.

But Fairfax police Chief Rico Tabaranza said the department would need specifically dedicated officers to patrol the areas, which it lacks the staff and resources to provide.

“The requestor continuously requests hours between sunset and sunrise until she can get housing, an unknown date with a sliding scale relative to time restriction,” Tabaranza said.

“The mere presence of the Fairfax Police Department Station, which is close to the vicinity indicated by the requestor, is just a visual deterrent,” he said. “Providing sufficient police protection to avoid malicious conduct on the part of any person requires dedicated and targeted police patrol protections.”

Koontz also filed a petition to start a community vegetable garden with native plants and sunflowers in the area. Abrams said it was rejected because of a missing $200 filing fee.

Fairfax adopted an ordinance in December that bans camping on public property. It requires that notice be provided to campers so they can remove their belongings before the ordinance is enforced.

It also requires that personal property be stored, with the opportunity to retrieve items prior to disposal.

When asked if the town plans to remove the camp, Abrams said that could not occur before the ordinance becomes effective Saturday.