WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) - City leaders have passed a new ordinance for illegal camping. Council members debated until late in the day to lower fines for homeless camping from $500 to $200. Part of the new ordinance specified what city groups can remove homeless camps, be that Wichita Park and Recreation, the Wichita Police Department, or Homeless Outreach Teams, which can remove a camp immediately if the camp is seen as a public hazard. In addition, citations will not be handed if shelter bed spaces are available. While the ordinance has to go through city legal to verify different parts of the puzzle here, homeless advocates have urged the council to reconsider. "This policy, no matter how you slice it, and I'm not just talking about the change, I'm actually talking about the existing policy. I don't like either one; no matter how you slice it, this policy is taking someone's home. And is creating more homeless," said Oliva Hays, a homeless advocate. City Council passes downtown paid parking plan City Council members also heard from business owners in the downtown core who say they continue to have problems with camping, break-ins, and vandalism from part of the unhoused community. "I, as a taxpayer, have a right to use sidewalks, the parks, the walkways, the cycle paths, without fear. In Delano, there are people who have to come to work and get somebody to move out of their business entranceway because somebody set up camp there overnight," said Tim Dugger, who owns property downtown. This ordinance will be up for another reading at the next council meeting on Jan. 7. Typically, it is on the consent agenda, which is expected to become an official city ordinance. You can find Tuesday's agenda report below: Agenda_Report_No._VI-2Download