Rochester council members divided on approach to park camps

Jun. 12—ROCHESTER — Matthew Short packed up his camp Monday morning on the western edge of Silver Lake Park.

He had been given

notice to move

several days earlier and indicated Monday that he had a relocation plan as friends helped him load belongings into shopping carts.

Homeless since 2019, Short said he doesn't always camp but has had four to five different sites in the city over the years.

Choosing one so visible near the intersection of Seventh Avenue Northeast and Silver Lake Drive was a matter of necessity, he said.

"I just needed to get out of the rain," he said.

How these camps are cleared has been discussed at recent City Council meetings, including Monday evening.

Homeless advocates and park officials said they often urge people experiencing homelessness to avoid such obvious locations, because it spurs calls for dismantling camps and hastens efforts to encourage them to move.

Park staff and a Rochester police officer waiting Monday for Short to clear his belongings so they could restore the park site said they're hoping city officials can find a new solution, rather than needing to repeatedly force people to dismantle camp sites.

The site was one of two cleared Monday, according to Rochester Parks and Recreation Director Paul Widman.

Approximately eight hours after Short received the day's first visit from city staff, Rochester City Council members were

discussing options during a previously planned study session,

where Widman said the work is posing challenges.

"Clearing an encampment is not easy, and it's not a pleasant process," he said, pointing out staff show compassion and understanding while also encouraging people to move.

He said the added workload also can put them in harms way, due to what they find at some camps.

Police Chief Jim Franklin echoed the approach, stating police officers seek to educate and encourage people to access available community support, opting to use enforcement as a last resort.

"We are not trying to criminalize homelessness," he said.

At the same time, he said the message regarding the use of public spaces needs added clarity.

While the city adopted a 2014 resolution banning camping in city parks, Franklin said creating an ordinance with "more teeth" and covering all city property would help.

An ordinance, compared to a resolution, would make unauthorized camping a misdemeanor criminal offense. Currently, the city's camping ban requires officers to trespass someone — telling them to move — before any legal action is taken.

"It would put us on a bit firmer legal footing, frankly, to be dealing with some of these challenging situations," City Attorney Micheal Spindler-Krage said of the proposed ordinance. "There is a little bit of a difference from trying to deal with some of these situations as a trespass."

Franklin said the added authority would only be used after other approaches were exhausted and people refused to cooperate with city efforts.

Council member Shaun Palmer said he'd support taking action and enforcing the current resolution, citing frustration with current approaches, as well as nonprofits that provide camping gear.

"It's not compassionate to give out a tent and have people die in parks by themselves and sit there for three days dying," he said, appearing to allude to a

Cook Park death that was discovered June 7

by a parks employee.

While council member Mark Bransford voiced specific support for a proposed ordinance as a way to address the issue compassionately while also letting residents know action is being taken, other council members said a more cautious approach is needed.

"How is our housing situation going to back up the potential change or help that RPD or parks is wanting?" council member Kelly Rae Kirkpatrick said, suggesting that finding a safe place to allow people to camp could be an option.

Before adding restrictions, she suggested the city and county work together to provide an optional camping location, pointing to potential use of the northern section of Graham Park.

Taryn Edens, manager of Rochester's Housing and Neighborhood Services, pointed toward city and county efforts to find more shelter resources and expand housing options.

"That is still the vision and the next steps needed to continue this dialogue," she said of work that includes several community agencies.

Olmsted County Housing Director Dave Dunn also acknowledged ongoing efforts amid a shortage of shelter beds and housing.

"There are about two to three people a night who are turned away from the warming center," he said of the 45-bed Rochester Community Warming Center and pointing to a lack of housing resources.

While some discussion pointed to available beds at Dorothy Day Hospitality House, Dunn and other advocates have pointed out some people simply opt not to stay there and others might be restricted from accessing the services

"The reality is this is a really, really delicate issue," Dunn said.

Council member Molly Dennis said she worries the proposed ordinance and potential legal action are efforts to force people to conform to expectations.

She said she'd rather see the city invest in solutions that help address the housing issue.

"I think the complexity and the compassion and the delicate nature of this issue needs us to put money where our mouth is, to write the check, to say we need to find a place," she said.

Council President Brooke Carlson pointed to a need for more discussion on the issue.

"How many beds do we have, what's the need and how do we sort of match that?" she said. "If people aren't taking advantage of those opportunities to at least have safe and secure shelter, is that when we are more comfortable enforcing?

"I'm just trying to balance what are our opportunities in the community across our shelter system compared to what's the actual need, knowing that some people don't want to choose those opportunities."

With no clear direction from the council, Spindler-Krage said more discussion is likely regarding the proposed camping ordinance at a future meeting.