Fairfax will enact a camping ordinance aimed at breaking up a homeless encampment in a downtown park.

In a split decision, the Town Council voted 3-2 at a special meeting on Wednesday to approve the ordinance. Vice Mayor Stephanie Hellman and councilmembers Mike Ghiringhelli and Frank Egger voted in support. Mayor Lisel Blash and Councilmember Barbara Coler were opposed.

A second reading and final adoption is set for Jan. 9.

The ordinance would ban all camping on public property. It requires notice be provided to the homeless community to give them the opportunity to remove their belongings before the ordinance is enforced. The ordinance requires that personal property be stored, with the opportunity to retrieve items prior to disposal.

The ordinance was drafted amid public outcry over a camp near Contratti Park. Residents have raised concerns about trash, drug use and blight.

The town delayed a vote on the controversial ordinance until the newly elected Town Council members were seated on Dec. 4.

“This is a really challenging issue,” Hellman said. “It’s a really painful vote to be making right now.”

Ghiringhelli said he would support the development of a citizens oversight committee to guide the compassionate treatment of homeless residents.

“Bring them inside, help somebody, but letting them out behind the ballpark with the drug use and all that other stuff, that is dangerous to our children, that is dangerous to our seniors, that is dangerous to our community and we need to move this forward tonight,” he said.

Egger said he wanted to clarify that nighttime uses by members of the community — such as publicly sanctioned movie nights or gatherings — were not affected by the new ordinance.

“This is a new ordinance that’s addressing camping in Fairfax,” Egger said.

Blash said she was concerned about Fairfax being treated as a location of last resort for the homeless, but urged greater compassion. She said the ordinance failed to live up to that standard.

“We need to be part of a solution and not part of the problem,” she said. “I just have to vote my conscience on this.”

Councilmember Barbara Coler said the town should embrace a sanctioned camp site or a shelter alongside the ordinance.

“We need to create more affordable housing and acceptance of Section 8 and other vouchers, such as veterans disabled vouchers for housing,” Coler said. “They’re simply not enough permanent housing, so I’m going to vote no.”

The site has chaffed residents for many months as conflicts have mounted with baseball players and nearby families. Residents recently organized a protest at the Parkade to call on the town to remove the camp. The demonstration attracted hundreds of supporters.

A recent town report said 17 homeless people live in Fairfax, though locals have claimed there are as many as 50 people living there.

The majority of residents said the ordinance was essential to maintaining the area.

Brian Six, vice president of the West Marin Little League — a group that led the early campaign for a camping ban — said the ordinance would combat the threats the camp represented to children and the public.

“They’ve been yelled at. We’ve encountered needles and pipes that were clearly the result of drug use,” he said. “I think everybody readily acknowledges the challenge of these issues and I don’t think we are insensitive to the challenges that many people face in California.”

Police Chief Rico Tabaranza said officers were in frequent communication with the campers, who were notified that an ordinance banning camping was likely on the horizon.

“It’s a standard conversation they have with them,” Tabaranza said.

Robbie Powelson, a homelessness advocate, urged the council to reject the ban.

“This ordinance is not going to solve any solutions. You guys came to make a solution. You should find a way to get people in housing,” he said.

The town has not completely calculated the cost estimates associated with enforcing the proposed ordinance. Such costs could include additional staff time for police and public works employees; a contractor to collect and store possessions; new signage; and camp cleanups.