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ACLU sues City of Boulder over public camping ban

The lawsuit accuses the city of slashing funds for its shelter and enforcing the camping ban on nights when extreme weather put people in danger.

BOULDER, Colo. — The ACLU of Colorado is suing the city of Boulder over its public camping ban. 

The ban prohibits camping in public places and using tents to cover property. The lawsuit accuses the city of slashing funds for its shelter and enforcing the camping ban on nights when extreme weather put people in danger.

The ACLU filed the lawsuit on behalf of three currently unhoused Boulder residents, two housed Boulder residents and the local nonprofit Feet Forward. That group says unhoused people in Boulder have nowhere else to go. 

"We don't have adequate shelter space. We also don't have adequate places for people to be during the day. We don't have things like a day shelter or a navigation center," Feet Forward founder and executive director Jennifer Livovich said. 

The ACLU said it filed the lawsuit after sending two letters to the city, calling the ban inhumane and unconstitutional.

"We have just received the lawsuit and are reviewing it," the city said in a statement Thursday. "The city will comment at the appropriate time through its filings in the court process."

The Aurora City Council passed an urban camping ban earlier this year. Denver has had a similar ban since 2012.

RELATED: Denver council chambers fill with people protesting urban camping ban

RELATED: Researchers examine whether urban camping bans help people out of homelessness

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