NLV delays homeless sweep

Wednesday, April 13, 2005 | 9:03 a.m.

North Las Vegas officials have postponed cleaning up a homeless encampment at Owens Avenue and Stocker Street until possibly next week because the sweep needed to be better organized, a North Las Vegas official said.

North Las Vegas City Manager Gregory Rose ordered the delay because there were "too many questions" regarding the cleanup and the city needed to organize all the interested agencies and parties, said Tim Bedwell, spokesman for the North Las Vegas Police, who was speaking on behalf of the city manager.

"We're dealing with people's lives, and there is too much at stake," he said.

Police and city officials had organized for the cleanup for at least a week, going so far as posting signs at the site -- in English and Spanish -- warning that authorities were going to clean the area today, Bedwell said.

But there were various questions raised on Tuesday, such as where the possessions of the residents would be taken and which non-city organizations would be involved, that needed to be addressed before the sweep takes place, Bedwell said.

One issue raised was the role of the Southern Nevada Homeless Coalition. By Tuesday night, the coalition had not been informed of the sweep of the camp, said Charles Bowker, chairman for the coalition.

North Las Vegas police learned that representatives from the coalition could not attend the sweep and decided to postpone the event, Bedwell said.

Responding to residents' complaints, the city planned to clean out 6 or 12 homeless people at the site who had pitched tents and tarps for shelter.

North Las Vegas has cleaned out the site at Owens Avenue before, most recently in February, and has been criticized for not providing ample warning to homeless people at the site.