The D.C. Council on Tuesday postponed a planned vote on a bill that would have stopped the clearing of homeless encampments during the winter months.

The decision to delay the vote on a bill from Councilmember Brianne Nadeau (D-Ward 1) until Dec. 21 is a temporary reprieve for Mayor Muriel Bowser, who earlier in the fall launched a pilot program to offer housing to residents at five encampments before moving to clear them and prohibit anyone from coming back. She has argued it is a needed tool to help people in dire circumstances, living in encampments that can pose health and safety hazards.

Critics of the pilot program — which include a number of homeless advocacy groups and lawmakers — say that while they support the goal of quickly housing people who live in encampments, doing so by imposing a deadline for an encampment clearing is counterproductive and can actually put unhoused people at further risk, especially during hypothermia season.

Nadeau’s bill would ban clearings until the spring, and also require D.C. to offer services ranging from lavatories to trash disposal at the encampments that are part of Bowser’s pilot program that have not yet been cleared. (Three already have — two in NoMa, and one in Truxton Circle — with two in Foggy Bottom left to go.)

“I do not believe we should be evicting encampment residents from their homes in the middle of winter, even if their homes are tents,” said Nadeau.

“The mayor’s retort is she wants to get people into housing. That’s what everyone wants. What is happening on the ground is chaos. Literally as people were being moved they did not where they were going or for how long,” added Councilmember Robert White (D-At Large), a mayoral contender who observed last week’s clearing of an encampment in Truxton Circle.

“There’s no reason housing someone has to come after a tent encampment has been ripped away,” said Councilmember Janeese Lewis George (D-Ward 4).

But other lawmakers said that while they shared concerns with Bowser’s pilot program — especially over how the clearings have been executed — they also thought Nadeau’s bill would too severely limit the city’s ability to clear encampments in public space. Councilmember Charles Allen (D-Ward 6) said that while he felt the clearings so far had been heavy-handed, he wanted to refine the bill’s language to prevent encampments from being established on sidewalks and on school grounds.

“There are areas where encampments are not ideal,” echoed Councilmember Christina Henderson (I-At Large), citing an encampment outside Seaton Elementary earlier this year.

Councilmember Brooke Pinto (D-Ward 2) said Bowser’s pilot program should be allowed to complete its work at the remaining two encampments in Foggy Bottom, after which city officials and lawmakers should review how things went and decide whether to expand to other locations. Councilmember Mary Cheh (D-Ward 3) agreed.

“The execution of this pilot has to improve. We have to treat people in a humane and helpful way and do things that will make the numbers better. But the effort to get people into safe and stable housing shouldn’t be stopped,” she said.

Councilmember Elissa Silverman (I-At Large), who has attended various encampment clearings, tried to bridge the gap between both sides. “Forcing people out of their tents when they are waiting for housing doesn’t make sense. But allowing encampments to be anywhere also doesn’t make sense,” she said.

Silverman proposed the postponement on the vote until Dec. 21, which was approved on a 9-3 vote. Nadeau, who voted against the delay, said she would be willing to work with her colleagues on some of the language — but didn’t think much middle ground could be found. “I’m not sure there is a compromise here,” she said.

It remains unclear when D.C. plans to clear the remaining two encampments in Foggy Bottom, raising the possibility that the clearings could happen before lawmakers gather to vote on Nadeau’s postponed bill.

And the postponement left homeless advocates angry with the council.

“The council’s failure to pass this encampment bill today represents the lowest point in a years-long trend of councilmembers failing to exercise consistent and appropriate oversight over the Mayor’s homeless services policies,” tweeted Damon King of the Legal Aid Society of D.C. “The council just sent a message: the administration can continue to descend further into utter cruelty, and our legislative branch’s response will be to dither, delay, and kick the can down the road.”

In a tweet after the vote, Lewis George pledged to keep working to pass the bill.

“I know people are disappointed that the encampment vote was delayed,” she wrote. “But I need all of us to stay in this fight. I’m committed to working on it with Members who signaled an openness to getting this done to protect our unhoused neighbors. There’s too much harm at stake to give up.”