Since updating its neighborhood park hours and clarifying rules related to camping last spring, Longmont has noticed new issues are emerging that it plans to address.

The Longmont Municipal Code already prohibits camping on public lands, except in designated areas with a valid permit.

In May, the City Council agreed to define camping as “residing or dwelling temporarily in a place by using or erecting a shelter (other than park-provided shelters) … including a tent or any cover or protection from the elements besides the clothing a person is wearing, and conduct daily living activities including but not limited to eating or sleeping in such place.”

The definition clarified that napping and picnicking are allowed, for up to two hours a day, on public lands that are open.

At the time, the Council also modified the city’s neighborhood park hours to be from one hour before sunrise until one hour after sunset, unless otherwise noted.

New park hours took effect June 4.

The decision to do so was largely in response to illegal camping and other prohibited activities in city parks such as Lanyon and Carr.

Longmont Parks and Natural Resources Director David Bell said Friday previous updates to the code largely focused on parks, greenways, microplazas, open space and trails.

“What we started seeing and hearing from the community is … people camping in spaces we wouldn’t expect it. So, up along the Civic Center,” Bell said. “Right up against the building; that’s not a park; it’s not a greenway; it’s not an open space — but it is city-owned property.”

During its study session Tuesday, the Council is scheduled to discuss an ordinance that, if approved as written, would make it unlawful to camp in any park, parkway, recreation area, open space or “other city property” without a permit.

The proposed ordinance makes clear that it is against the law to camp on private property without permission from the property owner.

While the proposed ordinance strengthens some rules against illegal camping, it also provides more flexibility by allowing items such as “a blanket” in addition to “the clothing a person is wearing” to be exempt from the rule.

“If someone’s out there and they have blankets or a sleeping bag to protect them, we’re going to allow that,” Bell said. “We want to make sure that the people that need shelter or cover have some of those basics.”

The city will not enforce its camping ban when beds are unavailable in shelters in Boulder County.In Martin v. City of Boise, the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals held that “as long as there is no option of sleeping indoors, the government cannot criminalize indigent, homeless people for sleeping outdoors, on public property, on the false premise they had a choice in the matter,” a council memo said.

Councilman Tim Waters, who serves as the council liaison to the city’s Parks and Recreation Advisory Board, thought the change in neighborhood park hours last June had been helpful.

“They ought to be safe; they ought to be clean and they ought to be fun,” Waters said of the city’s parks.

Waters emphasized the city does its best to help people who are experiencing homelessness, but acknowledged some of those same individuals don’t accept it.

“There’s not a single person on the street tonight in Longmont that needs to be unhoused,” Waters said. “The city will work with people to get them placed. But they have to be willing to work with the city.”