The City of Traverse City will start enforcing its no-camping ordinance in city parks on May 6 – a move that will affect any individuals experiencing homelessness who are still encamped at the Pines by that date.

Individuals in the Pines have been “regularly informed since the fall of 2024 that the Pines would not be a long-term solution for the summer of 2025 and beyond,” according to a Traverse City Police Department (TCPD) release. The TCPD’s Quick Response Team (QRT) and community partners “have proactively identified individuals staying in the Pines and their plans for relocation,” the release continues. “The QRT and housing partners have been meeting weekly to discuss each person referred to the QRT. The city has worked diligently with the Homelessness Response Team to leverage every available resource, providing support throughout this transition and beyond.”

Traverse City commissioners are voting on May 5 to approve an updated special land use permit for Safe Harbor that will allow the shelter to operate year-round starting this summer. Diversion of Pines residents to the shelter is one of the “stable solutions” being offered when the no-camping enforcement begins, according to the release.

“The encampment is not being shut down overnight,” says TCPD Chief Matt Richmond. “We are working alongside our QRT and service providers to approach this in a way that prioritizes engagement. This phased approach will provide individuals time to transition into shelter or other needed services.”

Starting this week, the TCPD plans to provide each person in the Pines with the date of enforcement both verbally and in writing, according to the release. “Individuals will have the opportunity to leave up to and on the day of enforcement,” the release states. “Those individuals that continue to camp beyond the date of enforcement will be cited for a violation of ordinance 1064.05 and instructed to leave. Failure to leave once cited and upon request may result in the subject's arrest. Strict enforcement of ordinance 1064.05 will be maintained throughout the year by the TCPD throughout the city.”

City ordinance 1064.05 states: “No person shall camp within any park. No person shall park overnight any house trailer or camping vehicle in any park. A person who violates this section is responsible for a civil infraction.” A U.S. Supreme Court ruling in 2024 gave cities the power to target homeless encampments and implement fines or other penalties for individuals sleeping in public spaces or camping in public parks.

“No community has successfully managed encampments as a long-term solution to homelessness – they are inherently unsafe and unsustainable,” says City Manager Liz Vogel. “We recognize that this transition will be difficult, as a sense of community has formed within the Pines. However, safety must remain our top priority. By expanding shelter options, we are working to ensure that individuals have safe, viable alternatives when the encampment is no longer an option.”