Ordinance Prohibiting Camping on Public Property Passes Fargo City Commission

Commission Also Talks About The Arbors

FARGO, N.D. (KVRR) — Fargo city leaders have adopted an ordinance prohibiting camping on public property, but there was some dispute over a resolution to the ordinance.

It includes several new priority enforcement areas and the intention to implement Housing First, a short-term solution that will precede
the comprehensive long-term Housing First strategy.

The vote was three to two in favor of the resolution.

Commissioners Dave Piepkorn and Michelle Turnberg voted against it, but supported the overall ordinance.

There are currently homeless encampments along the Red River.

“There are a lot of impacts on businesses and a lot of people are here. I’m not going to go through and detail all those, we’re really trying to be focused on solutions and not the semantics of the issue,” said Rocky Schneider, Downtown Community Partnership Executive Director.

“We believe the city’s proposed ordinance and resolution have been misunderstood overall. They don’t completely ban camping, they completely ban unsafe behaviors,” said Beth Olson with Presentation Partners in Housing.

The commission also talked about ongoing issues with calls of service and safety issues at The Arbors where a man was recently shot in the face and killed.

Police have responded to The Arbors hundreds of times in the past two and a half years.