Rally held at Santa Cruz City Hall against the temporary outdoor living ordinance

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. (KION) A rally was held late afternoon on Tuesday at the Santa Cruz City Hall against the temporary outdoor living ordinance.

Locals gathered at city hall expressing their disapproval for the homeless ordinance. The ordinance will go up for a final vote today and if approved, could go into effect in 30 days.

 The Temporary Outdoor Living Ordinance is an attempt by officials to address issues of homelessness within the city. It details areas where camping is and is not permitted, curfews for tents, among other things. The proposal discussed on Tuesday has had some amendments added after hearing public discussion but many community members are dissatisfied with the approach.

"That's why I'm out here right now to make sure we're using our voice and our power and presence as Santa Cruz community members to make sure we're voicing our concerns about how this ordinance does not solve any housing issue," says Ayo Banjo, student and NAACP member at UCSC.

He feels that in order to make an impact on homelessness, those individuals should be included in the conversation.

"The temporary ordinance on living is not a solution to homelessness and so we need to figure out how we can create community-generated solutions and make sure that we have houseless communities and houseless organizations a part of the table where decisions are being made," says Banjo.

Robert Norse, a member of the Homeless United for Friendship and Freedom feels that this ordinance is another way to kick the homeless off the streets.

"The real issue is that it's basically said this is a get out of town ordinance or get out of sight," says Norse.

The city says this ordinance is expected to be amended often and will use and gather data of what is and is not working.