On Dec. 2, 2011, about two dozen Occupy Austin protesters gather on the steps and plaza outside of Austin City Hall. In the wake of the ongoing protests, City Hall building guidelines implemented by former City Manager Marc Ott disallowed anyone from using the outdoor plaza, covered amphitheater or raised mezzanine from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. unless a city meeting is going on inside City Hall. [Jay Janner/AMERICAN-STATESMAN] ▲ Advocates for the homeless rally outside of Austin City Hall on June 20, the day the City Council eased restrictions on public camping and panhandling. [ANA RAMIREZ/AMERICAN-STATESMAN] ▲ ▲

After emotional testimony last week regarding homelessness in Austin, City Council members rescinded prohibitions on camping on public property. Starting Monday, so long as they are not presenting a hazard or danger, people will be able to sleep, lie and set up tents on city-owned sidewalks, plazas and vacant non-park space.

Except, not in front of City Hall itself.

City Hall building guidelines implemented by former City Manager Marc Ott in 2012 disallow anyone from using the outdoor plaza, covered amphitheater or raised mezzanine from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. unless a city meeting is going on inside. The rules specifically prohibit sleeping, camping, storing personal property and erecting tents.

City spokespersons confirmed this week that the camping prohibition remains in place. City Manager Spencer Cronk said in a text message that staffers are reviewing the policy, but did not indicate whether he intends to rescind it.

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Mayor Steve Adler said Friday that he does not think the City Hall camping ban should be immediately rescinded. He said it should be reviewed as staffers seek to identify, by August, the places where people should and shouldn't be allowed to camp in Austin. Adler acknowledged that some business owners objected to the ordinance changes out of concern about the impact people camping in front of their businesses could have, but he said they shouldn't consider the City Hall ban to be hypocritical.

"I think the businesses in our community want staff to focus on the broader question in our community regarding where people can and can't camp," he said. "I'm sure included in that discussion will be city properties, properties along Congress and elsewhere in the city. We can't do everything all at once."

Adler would not say whether he thinks the City Hall plaza and amphitheater are appropriate for camping.

"You could come up with a list of 20 different locations and we could go through the list," he said. "The appropriateness of any locations really need to be understood in the context of all the locations."

Other areas where camping remains banned include any city park space, under Austin Parks and Recreation rules.That includes downtown green spaces as well as trails and greenbelts such as along Barton Creek.

In an email he sent to all Austin Police Department staffers Friday morning, Chief Brian Manley included training bulletins outlining how to enforce the revised ordinances. He noted for officers that "the building use policy that governs the use of City Hall's grounds also prohibits camping at City Hall."

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Manley's email also noted that Cap Metro bus stops and some city parking lots have specific prohibitions against camping. City staff members confirmed APD also has a policy regarding camping outside its building, but could not immediately produce a copy of it. Any camping ban there did not appear to be enforced on a recent afternoon, when a man slept unbothered on the front steps of police headquarters while Manley held a news conference nearby.

During its June 20 meeting, the council also removed prohibitions on panhandling and sitting or sleeping in public. Manley's training bulletins outlined that officers responding to complaints regarding those issues may only consider whether a person was acting aggressively or obstructing a right-of-way in a dangerous or intentionally reckless way. He ordered officers to track all calls related to the new ordinance and whether they were able to take enforcement action.

The City Hall property includes a large plaza fronting the building's entrance, with a non-operational fountain, benches and raised, shaded space. The one-story, covered amphitheater includes wide, terraced steps and a flat mezzanine at the top. That space is often used for political rallies and news conferences.

Ott banned camping there after Occupy Austin protesters, allied with the Occupy Wall Street movement going on at the time, set up camp outside City Hall for months in late 2011 and early 2012. Kathie Tovo, the only current council member who was serving at the time, said Friday that she had forgotten that the camping ban ended up in city rules.

Tovo said she would need to think more about whether camping in front of City Hall should be allowed. She noted that she opposed removing the Occupy Austin protesters at the time, because she thought their political expression was important, but said cleaning and security associated with their presence cost the city.

Tovo and Alison Alter were the only council members to vote against immediately allowing camping citywide. They instead asked to make the ordinance changes in August, once staff members could identify locations where camping should and shouldn't be allowed.