Teresa Brooks

Dear Housing Committee I am respectfully requesting that you oppose amendment CACR16 for the following reasons. - It constitutionalizes a vague concept that invites litigation and weakens local control. Phrases like “temporary repose” and “unduly restrict” are undefined, making routine zoning, health, and safety rules vulnerable to constitutional challenge and forcing court, not communities, to decide basic quality-of-life questions. - It could undermine enforcement of health, safety, and land-use standards. By elevating sleeping on property to a constitutional right, the amendment risks limiting the state’s and municipalities’ ability to address unsafe structures, overcrowding, unpermitted habitation, fire hazards, and sanitation violations. - It solves no real constitutional problem while creating unintended consequences. Existing property and occupancy rights already protect lawful use of property; this amendment adds a redundant right that could be exploited to block reasonable regulations, turning routine enforcement disputes into constitutional fights.