TACOMA, Wash. — The Tacoma City Council voted to expand its camping ban within the city.
The vote from Oct. 21 moves to update Title 8 of the Municipal Code, “relating to camping and storage of personal belongings on public property.”
Tacoma’s current ban, “prohibited camping and the storage of personal belongings in a 10-block radius around temporary shelters, as well as Aspen Court (a City-permitted emergency and transitional housing facility), and all public property within 200 feet of Tacoma’s mapped rivers, waterways, creeks, streams, and shorelines,” a city spokesperson said.
It was passed in 2022 after Councilmember John Hines drafted the measure in response to a sharp increase in public health and safety concerns reported by community members regarding areas near Tacoma shelters.
Hines’ update three years later calls for the city to expand the no-camping ordinance to a two-block buffer area around parks, playgrounds and libraries.
Additionally, temporary or emergency shelters will have community buffer zones, “ensuring that these locations remain accessible and safe for those seeking their services,” the council wrote.
Rob Huff with the Tacoma Pierce County Coalition to End Homelessness says the region’s most recent point-in-time count shows homelessness continues to increase since the original camping ordinance was passed in 2022.
While point-in-time counts are widely viewed as a significant undercount of people experiencing homelessness, Pierce County’s recent count found 2,661 people homeless in 2024 and 2,955 in 2025.
According to the city council, the new legislation says that those who violate the law could be considered for a referral to therapeutic court, if they qualify.
“Tacoma has launched two therapeutic courts, including a Mental Health Court and a Community Court, where participants can be connected to treatment services and community resources, while maintaining a high level of accountability,” the city council wrote.
Before that addition, violators could face up to 30 days in jail and/or a $250 fine.
©2025 Cox Media Group
