Glenwood Springs officials briefed city council on Thursday about the legal boundaries, public safety concerns and resource limitations that shape how the city responds to homelessness and related public conduct.

The presentation by Chief of Public Safety Joseph Deras, Deputy Police Chief John Hassell and City Attorney Karl Hanlon, focused on how constitutional law, municipal court procedures and practical enforcement challenges affect the city’s ability to act.

“We can’t enforce based on someone’s status — whether they’re housed or unhoused. That’s the baseline. We enforce based on conduct,” Hanlon said.

Hanlon explained that trespassing on public property only applies if access is restricted to everyone. Similarly, public intoxication is not a violation unless a person is deemed a danger to themselves or others. If someone is cited but cannot pay the fine, municipal courts are required to pursue alternatives to jail.

“We don’t have debtor’s prisons in Colorado,” Hanlon said. “And if jail is even a possibility in a municipal case and the person is indigent, we’re required to provide counsel.”

Hassell said Glenwood Springs officers responded to approximately 25,000 calls for service last year. Of those, 400 to 600 involved individuals experiencing homelessness, or less than 3% of total calls.

“That’s a relatively small percentage,” he said. “It’s not like half our calls are homelessness. That’s just not true. But they are visible, and they’re in areas where the community tends to be more aware.”

He said officers most frequently encounter violations such as disorderly conduct, illegal camping, public intoxication, littering and trespassing on private property.

“There have been events downtown where we can give out a citation, but the community gets  upset we didn’t take them to jail,” Hassell said. “But we don’t have that option at the time. Later, when behavior escalates, we are able to lodge them.”

Hanlon added that the city has had “a number of conversations” with the Garfield County Sheriff about jail access.

“Typically, if we put someone in jail, it’s to break a cycle or a situation that’s unfolding in real time,” Hassell said. “But they’re released within 48 hours, either with a citation or a (personal recognizance) bond.”

Hanlon said the city’s authority is further limited outside its boundaries.

“If you’re outside of our jurisdiction, and you’re in BLM (public lands), BLM has a 14-day policy — and then you just move. And so we move an encampment and another pops up somewhere else. It’s absolutely a concern — especially this fire season.”

The city currently budgets about $100,000 per year for cleanup and removal but expects to exceed that amount.

“These cleanups are expensive,” Hanlon said. “We’re finding soiled mattresses, human waste, drug paraphernalia. You basically have to send in a hazmat crew.”

He said items removed from campsites are usually not stored due to contamination and abandonment.

“The stuff that’s left there isn’t usable. It ends up going to the dump. If it’s soiled, it’s going to the dump.”

Hassell and Deras emphasized that most individuals contacted by police refuse shelter or assistance.

“We have resources — hotel vouchers, partnerships with LiftUp and faith-based groups,” Hassell said. “But a vast majority of folks, probably in the 90s percentile, are choosing this lifestyle. They tell us, ‘Been there, done that. Leave me alone.'”

Hanlon referenced “City of Grants Pass, Oregon v. Johnson“, a Ninth Circuit case that restricted camping enforcement when shelter wasn’t available. That decision was overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2024.

“They didn’t give us a lot of new guidance,” Hanlon said. “But they did say that as long as we’re regulating conduct — and not status — then it’s not necessarily unconstitutional.”

He added that some Colorado cities, such as Aurora, are now conducting no-notice sweeps.

“That’s going to get challenged. I always hate being the poster child for new law in Colorado.”

Hassell invited council members to join officers in the field to see the issue firsthand.

“You won’t get it until you see it,” he said. “We’ve walked the tracks and found six encampments, two of them huge — probably thousands of dollars to clean up.”

Councilor Mitchell Weimer expressed concern about propane canisters accumulating near camps.

“I think it would be worth looking into taxing the hell out of those propane canisters,” he said. “They’re a fire hazard, and they’re everywhere.”

He also shared a personal shift in perspective.

“I cooked at the Extended Table for two and a half years. But I quit. I felt like I was part of the problem. It was the same people every night. That’s not what I signed up for.”

Councilor Erin Zalinski, who operated a downtown business, said the issue was less about presence than safety.

“I ran a bar downtown, and my business backs up to the library where most folks hang out,” she said. “That doesn’t bother me. What bothers me is when it becomes unsafe or unsanitary.”

Councilor Steve Smith said ongoing issues could eventually impact the city’s economic foundation.

“We can dress up the alleys and clean up around dumpsters, but if we allow unacceptable social behavior to continue, our tourism is going to decline. And that’s what we rely on.”

Council directed staff to draft an ordinance prohibiting alcohol consumption at Centennial Park without a special event permit. Although open drinking is also permitted at Two Rivers Park, no changes were proposed for that location.

“Centennial Park used to be a place where you could enjoy a picnic with your family after grabbing a bite to eat,” Zalinski told the Post Independent. “Now, there’s just so much conflict there — it’s not something you typically see at Two Rivers Park.”

Mayor Marco Dehm asked staff to estimate the cost of dedicating two officers full-time to conduct-related enforcement and encampment response.

“I’d like to see a proposal,” Dehm said. “We need to know what it would cost and how we’d pay for it.”

Hanlon said the issue is not new for Glenwood Springs and likely won’t go away — but city staff are trying their best to manage it within the legal and financial tools they have.

“We’re doing what we can with the tools we have,” he said, “but resources and legal boundaries are always going to shape how far we can go.”