Novato is set to adopt an ordinance banning fires in open spaces and city-owned property to deter fires at camps of homeless people.

The City Council unanimously approved the first reading of the ordinance on Tuesday. The vote came just weeks after the council unanimously voted to pass a similar urgency ordinance.

The longer-term measure makes the notable change of expanding the ordinance to apply to all city-owned properties.

City Manager Adam McGill said the urgency ordinance remains in effect. The council will return for a second reading on the permanent ordinance, probably in December. The ordinance would take effect 30 days after passage.

The ordinances still allow for open flames with a permit and allow the city to deny permits during times of elevated wildfire risk. The Parks, Recreation and Community Services Department oversees the process for issuing permits for parks, including permitting for fires in parks at barbecues, fire pits and other containers.

City Attorney Gary Bell said the longer-term ordinance also modifies language to make all city-owned property include parks, which are owned by the city.

“That will ensure those two provisions work together,” Bell said.

Novato officials have said that four unattended fires have been extinguished in open spaces since July. The city has removed 13 fuel cans, 10 propane tanks, four small propane tanks and 21 combustible aerosol cans from similar sites during that time period.

Hamilton residents have raised concerns about campers using open flames and cooking stoves at the nearby marsh. Concerns were also raised about Lee Gerner Park in 2020 and 2021.

The city authorized the Lee Gerner Park camp last year and is required under a federal court order to keep it operating until October 2024.

The council will likely decide over the next several months whether to continue to operate the camp or shut it down because of the city’s fiscal problems. The city faces a $2.6 million budget deficit this year.

While the camp has been paid for using grant funding, running it beyond next October will require the city to use general fund money. McGill told the council earlier this month that the cost to maintain the park has decreased substantially because the city has been able to reduce security, given the low number of incidents.