Gainesville police clear out downtown homeless encampment — again.

The city of Gainesville cleared out a homeless encampment downtown on Thursday, the latest move in a string of efforts to remove people living outside from the area around Southeast Fourth Place.

Gainesville officials largely cleared out the encampment in February , tagging peoples’ belongings with notices that they needed to move from public right-of-ways or their property would be removed by city staff.

“The aggregate resources were tasked on the day in question to assist our neighbors in relocating to shelter or alternate space so that the plans to address areas in need downtown could move forward,” Gainesville Fire Rescue Chief Joe Dixon said in a comment sent to The Gainesville Sun. “Accommodations are available at both Grace and St. Francis house.”

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According to reporting from TV20, the city used large equipment such as excavators to remove people’s belongings from the area that surrounds the St. Francis House. This is the third time the city has swept a downtown encampment this year.

“We are dedicated to providing folks with tools and opportunities to live a better life, but we have to hold folks accountable as well,” Gainesville Mayor Harvey Ward said in a comment to The Gainesville Sun. “It’s not fair or kind to anyone — not the people sleeping on the ground or the other people in the neighborhood — to pretend that sleeping on the sidewalk is a good solution.”

In February the Gainesville City Commission allocated $700,000 to help curb homelessness in the city and to provide 20 more shelter beds at Grace Marketplace.

While it is illegal to block public right-of-ways like sidewalks and roads, people are generally allowed to sleep outside in many public areas. But, a new Florida law that goes into effect in October will change that.

The anti-public camping bill, heralded mostly by state Republicans and Gov. Ron DeSantis, will prohibit municipalities from allowing camping on public property. Instead, municipalities are required to provide a designated specific public space for camping along with mental health resources, bathrooms and security.

Proponents of the legislation see it as a way to ensure homeless people have the resources needed to “get back on their feet,” while creating cleaner and safer streets. Critics say the law unfairly targets and harms a vulnerable population.

The only Democrat to support the bill was District 21 Rep. Yvonne Hayes Hinson. The local politician said a designated encampment with resources is a better alternative to sleeping outside with no power or facilities.

“An encampment is better than what we're seeing here in Gainesville — people sleeping on the street, taking over the street, no sanitation, no running water, no power. This will at least give them a place that is being monitored,” she said. “I couldn't turn a blind eye to what we've got. We've got a great brick-and-mortar shelter, we've had an encampment that didn't satisfy all of our needs, and in spite of all that we still have public sleeping.”

This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Gainesville police clear out downtown homeless encampment — again.