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Sacramento City Council Turning To Seattle For Answers On Homelessness

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — After countless debates over the homeless crisis in Sacramento, city leaders are now looking into whether building a tent city in a local neighborhood is the answer.

Several members of the Sacramento City Council met with the homeless coalition to discuss options. They say they're looking to Seattle for answers.

After a 90-minute meeting in the council chambers, the heated discussion spilled out onto the street.

"I'm not going to debate with you. That's not what we're doing here," said Sacramento City Councilman Jeff Harris. "It'd be nice if you bring it up once and awhile of what we are doing and what you perceive we are not we're not doing."

"It's kind of frustrating for you to come out in front of cameras and act like I haven't done that," a homeless activist said.

The council and the coalition are still at odds over the city's unlawful camping ordinance.

"We want them to repeal the camping ordinance," said James Clark, who is homeless.

Police have arrested numerous protesters in front of City Hall in protests that have spanned the winter months.

City Councilman Jay Schenirer says at this point, the ordinance is nonnegotiable.

"There's no commitments being made. There's no negotiating here," he said.

But he says city leaders are looking to Seattle for solutions to the homeless crisis. That city launched a city-sanctioned homeless encampment with a strict set of rules residents must follow in order to live there.

"We have a lot of questions and I personally want to see how they work their communities and how their communities are responding to having these tents cities in these places," Schenirer said.

His committee expects to share findings from the Seattle trip in April.

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