BERKELEY — Calling it a “stopgap measure,” the Berkeley City Council has approved a homeless encampment pilot program for up to 50 people.

The Berkeley plan was proposed by City Councilwoman Kate Harrison, and supported by Mayor Jesse Arreguin and council members Cheryl Davila and Rigel Robinson.

Seven Berkeley council members voted for the program at Tuesday night’s council meeting. Council members Rashi Kesarwani and Lori Droste abstained, saying they had questions and concerns.

The council will discuss the issue later — no date was set at the meeting — when city staff will propose possible locations for the homeless camp, as well as an updated budget and an outline of how the camp would be run and managed.

One possible site mentioned at the meeting is a city-owned parcel under the University Avenue overpass on Second Street.

“This item is not a long-term solution,” Harrison said. “It is a recognition that people are on the streets right now who need shelter, sanitation and services. … Within the next year, we want to get people into permanent housing, but within the next month, we want to prevent people from dying of exposure.”

According to Harrison, four homeless people died in the first 20 days of the new year in Berkeley. She said the city should act immediately.

“We need solutions now,” she said. “This proposal is part of the continuum needed to address the crisis in our streets, and we should not wait.”

The Berkeley council action comes two weeks after Gov. Gavin Newsom promised to pour more than $1 billion into housing the homeless and provide 100 trailers as temporary shelters across California. Newsom’s executive order also directed agencies to identify state land that could be used as temporary shelters for the homeless.

The Berkeley proposal asks for climate-controlled tents on raised pallets to provide stable shelter; management of the parcel by an agency; portable toilets, hand-washing machines and mobile showers; garbage pickup and storage; and a “good neighbor” policy to build community.

Harrison said more than 800 homeless people in Berkeley are living outdoors, and 230 of them are without “even tents.”

Harrison said the pilot program could possibly run six months.

“We need to do something different, and I do believe this is an idea whose time has come,” Mayor Arreguin said, voicing support for the outdoor shelter model. He said earlier that “housing first must continue to be the solution” to homelessness.

“The people of Berkeley are begging for us to do something. We need to think outside the box,” the mayor said. “This is an emergency. We need to move forward.”