Tauranga City Council is proposing to repeal a controversial bylaw which bans beggars from sleeping on the streets.
The Council will seek feedback from the community on removing the bylaw introduced earlier this year, which made rough sleeping and begging within five metres of retail buildings illegal.
Policy Committee Chair, Steve Morris, says the bylaw was "immoral".
"The effect of having a bylaw punishing rough sleeping when you have a housing shortage is fundamentally immoral, is what some members were of the view of," he told Newshub.
Morris says finding solutions will also benefit retailers feeling threatened by homeless people.
"Rather than defending a bylaw which a lot of members felt was actually indefensible, it would be better to spend that money on trying to help the issue of homelessness in our city."
A decision is likely to be announced in February 2020.
The bylaw was passed in March this year and caused huge controversy.
Housing advocate Sharon Loibl told Newshub it was "throwing a blanket" over the problem rather than solving it.
She said she would appeal the ban in the High Court to stop it spreading across New Zealand.
