Mayor Jacob Frey vetoed Ordinance 2025-061, citing serious safety concerns and warning that the measure would push Minneapolis backward by encouraging dangerous encampments instead of accelerating proven pathways to shelter and housing.
“This year, we’ve seen a lot of progress—more people choosing shelter, more people moving into supportive housing, and fewer dangerous encampments forming,” said Mayor Frey. “But once shelter and services are offered at an encampment, they must be closed. This ordinance does the opposite – encouraging them to grow and people to live in unsafe conditions. Our focus has to stay on safety, dignity, and housing solutions that actually work.”
Encampments are not a safe or humane solution to homelessness. In Minneapolis and across the country, they have been linked to fires, trafficking, public health outbreaks, and violent crime. As encampments grow, risks escalate—especially for the people living in them and the surrounding community.
The veto comes as recent City reporting shows continued progress in reducing unsheltered homelessness. With two weeks left in 2025, Minneapolis reports fewer City-supported encampment closures year-to-date, significantly reduced costs associated with the closures, and hundreds of people transitioning into shelter or supportive housing.
The most recent quarterly data presented to the City Council shows:
- 315 people transitioned out of unsheltered homelessness and into shelter or supportive housing through county coordination, according to Hennepin County partners
- One city-supported encampment closure across Q2 and Q3, reflecting fewer large encampments forming
- Over 1,000 shelter offers made across the first three quarters of the year
- Expanded capacity, including 126 new shelter beds and 123 new housing units
“People are at the center of all we do,” said Enrique Velázquez, director of regulatory services for the City of Minneapolis. “Our team has a compassionate and collaborative approach to engagement, which is bringing favorable results toward ending homelessness. Encampments are not safe or dignified places to shelter. We still have work to do, and we’re committed to taking care of our neighbors who need us most.”
The vetoed ordinance would guarantee encampments remain in place for at least seven days and incentivize them to grow to 20 or more people to receive services—making them larger and more dangerous. It would also limit the City’s ability to intervene early, when outreach is most effective and before conditions deteriorate.
The measure further raises legal and operational questions about encampments on fenced, no-trespassing City property. Among them: what happens when encampments form on fenced, clearly posted, no-trespassing City property? If individuals break the law to set up an encampment on restricted property, is the City still required to provide notice? Is the City still required to provide services? If the answer is yes, that would mean offering expanded services in direct response to unlawful trespass-- creating operational challenges and inconsistencies between public and private property while incentivizing unlawful behavior.
Concerns about the ordinance have been echoed by community partners, including the Metro Urban Indian Director’s (MUID) Public Safety Committee, who told City Council the proposal would make conditions worse, not better.
“I appreciate the Mayor’s continued leadership on matters affecting public safety, health, and the well-being of all Minneapolis residents,” said Wahbon Spears, Chair of the MUID Public Safety Committee. “The MUID public safety committee remains committed to addressing encampment-related concerns in a manner that prioritizes public safety, emergency access, sanitation, and humane treatment. We recognize the complexities involved and the importance of coordinating with law enforcement, public health, social services, housing providers, and community stakeholders to develop strategies that uphold safety while connecting individuals with available services and resources.”
This week, the City launched a new web page detailing its comprehensive approach to preventing and addressing homelessness, including nation-leading efforts to build affordable housing. It’s an effort involving several City agencies and partnerships with Hennepin County and other stakeholders.