MARQUETTE, Mich. (WZMQ) – The City of Marquette’s Overnight Occupation of Public Property Ordinance was brought forth on March 31, sparking a number of concerns from the community.
Essentially, the ordinance prohibits camping in vehicles or tents on city property, mainly targeted towards the many visitors in the summer. Marquette’s Room At The Inn addressed concerns this brings to the areas homeless population, and have been in talks with the city ever since.
“It’s important to come to the table and have hard conversations in a really pragmatic and productive way,” said Room At The Inn Executive Director, Chelsie Wilkinson. “So, that’s exactly what we did here.”
Tuesday’s meeting sectioned time to speak more on the matter. Initially, the ordinance lacked verbiage clarifying the protection of personal properties in the event of this type of infraction.
Since the meeting in March, a new section in the ordinance was added, stating that any property will be handled through the city’s existing lost and found procedures. That information can be found here.
Overall, the ordinance was passed 6-1. The only no came from commissioner Cody Mayer.
Mayer had addressed the idea to bring a monthly report from what the Marquette City Police was finding in terms of these overnight campers.
“I thought the commission being able to see more of a monthly report on how this ordinance was actually being used and implemented, would give us a better idea come time to review again,” said Mayer.
This was voted down, with concerns of too much micromanagement, as monthly police reports are already made regarding homelessness in the area.
The ordinance will be assessed throughout the next six months. The Marquette City Commission will meet again by the end of the year to further discuss these findings and how the ordinance can sustain the best interests of the community.
To view the first report on the ordinance, visit wzmq19.com.
