The City of Melbourne is seeking to introduce by-laws that would ban public camping and allow the confiscation of homeless people's belongings if they're left unattended.

But the results of a community consultation released on Thursday show the proposal is facing huge resistance and has created "moral outrage".

A group representing 16 churches in central Melbourne said the camping ban combined with the confiscation of belongings created "an impossible situation" for the homeless.

"Moving people on may help to make our streets a little more tidy but it will do nothing to solve the debilitating problems associated with homelessness," said the Melbourne City Churches in Action group.

"In fact, these new powers are already creating an environment of fear, distrust and dehumanisation, and are adding to the traumas that our city's most vulnerable are experiencing."

About 84 per cent of the 2556 people and organisations that responded to a call for feedback were against the camping ban.

The Salvation Army said such a move would undermine its previous positive relationship with the council.

A move to charge homeless people $388 to get their confiscated possessions back from the council received almost no support, with 98 per cent against it.

Numerous legal groups, including Victoria Legal Aid, were united in the view that the laws are a breach of human rights.

Homeless people surveyed said it would lead to an increase in suicides and crime as people broke into properties for shelter.

"Homelessness is not a choice for most people," said one of the people surveyed.

"It's not a disease. Homeless people are human beings. People feel safer in the city and are less likely to be bashed or murdered."

An official submission from Victoria Police's North West Region gave broad support for "the efforts by the City of Melbourne to address the issues and risks arising from camping in a public".

Just 14 per cent of the 2556 submissions were in support of the camping ban - including that from the Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

"The large street camps, aggressive begging and public drug use recently experienced in Melbourne risks tarnishing Melbourne's reputation as the world's most liveable city," it said.

A coalition of homeless groups argued there were already existing local laws to deal with problem behaviour on the streets, including a prohibition against the unreasonable obstruction of pedestrian traffic.

They said the only way to address homelessness was to find the money for more housing and support.

"Unfortunately, for the majority of people sleeping rough, appropriate housing opportunities have not been available," the submission said.

"Current wait times for public housing for single people under 55, even with the highest priority, are three to four years."

The feedback will be considered by a submissions committee, which will make a final recommendation about whether the council should push ahead.

Councillors have already given the green light to a communications campaign aimed at deterring people from donating items directly to the homeless.

But that campaign has been shelved until after a final decision is made on the camping ban - a process likely to take until at least May.