DES MOINES (AP) — Three homeless people who appealed a city eviction can stay in their makeshift camps in Des Moines because of safety concerns, according to a ruling by an administrative hearing officer.

Eviction notices were posted Jan. 17 at five makeshift camps set up by homeless people warning that city officials would forcibly remove or arrest individuals who remained by the end of the month. But late Monday, Officer Cassandra Webster decided it was safer for the individuals to stay in their camps.

“The harm avoided is greater than the harm done, where the threats of sleep deprivation and freezing to death are greater than the general unsafe conditions of the homeless camps,” Webster said in her ruling. “There do not appear to be any other options for these people.”