City Council is considering an ordinance that would make “urban camping” illegal.

The proposed ordinance mirrors an ordinance in Pittsburgh that City Manager Christopher McGuire and Councilman Dave Ellis discussed with Pittsburgh officials on a recent visit to the city so they could see what Pittsburgh is doing about homelessness.

In keeping with the advice of Pittsburgh officials, Altoona intends to ensure that the proposed urban camping ordinance won’t become a means to “criminalize homelessness” — and to that end, Altoona officials will seek funding from Operation Our Town to pay for embedding a social worker in the police department, to accompany officers during interactions with homeless people, according to McGuire.

In such interactions, the social worker would take the lead in an attempt to “defuse the situation,” while trying to steer the individual toward services like temporary housing, with the officer taking over if the individual refuses to comply — and for example, proceeds to set up a tent in a public space — which could lead to arrest, according to McGuire.

Penalties for being convicted of a violation of the ordinance include a fine of between $100 and $1,000 or prison of up to 90 days.

If a homeless individual goes to prison, social services “re-engage,” McGuire said.

City officials have been talking to local magisterial district justices about using community service sentences rather than fines or imprisonment, McGuire said.

Such sentences could include cleaning up downtown, McGuire suggested.

The MDJs are open to talking about the matter, but will need to discuss it with the county’s president judge, under whose supervision they work, McGuire said.

The idea is “to get people the care and help they need and not turn it into a criminal problem,” McGuire said.

“We want to provide people with safe shelter when we see them out in situations like this,” Ellis said.

The city also doesn’t want to further burden the criminal justice system or “clog up the jail,” McGuire said.

Currently, the city lacks enforcement tools, as any action taken against homeless people are “just policy-driven,” McGuire said.

The city is acting on the matter based on complaints from Penn State students about being harassed by homeless individuals in local parks; businesses complaining that some customers have been confronted while emerging from stores, which has led to the customers saying they’ll never come downtown to shop again; and homeless people eating out of garbage cans or throwing trash at people, he said.

Many business owners have invested large percentages of their savings in enterprises downtown, and the city doesn’t want such incidents to interfere with their reaping the benefits, according to McGuire.

The city also doesn’t want the issue to stall downtown’s ongoing development progress, he said.

The city “needs to protect the taxpayers, along with the rights of other people,” said Councilman Ron Beatty.

“It’s a balance,” McGuire said.

The proposed ordinance defines camping to include occupying or sleeping in a building without permission of the owner or in a public place; living or sleeping on the street or a sidewalk or bench or park; and setting up a tent in such places or storing personal property in those places.

Parks, moreover, are to be closed 30 minutes after sunset until 30 minutes before sunrise, according to the ordinance.

Council will likely introduce the ordinance at its next meeting, and likely would adopt it at the following meeting.