ASHWAUBENON (NBC 26) — The Ashwaubenon Village Board unanimously voted against enacting a ban on camping in public spaces Tuesday night after hearing concerns from residents and advocates about criminalizing homelessness.
Watch the full broadcast story here:
The proposal, which was recommended by the Public Works Committee last week, aimed to ensure safe and accessible use of public spaces, according to City Manager Joel Gregozeski.
"Why is this ordinance being proposed? It's really to ensure the safe and accessible use of our public spaces," Gregozeski said.
However, after hearing feedback from nearly a dozen neighbors who spoke out during the meeting, board members decided the ban would not solve the underlying problem they're trying to address.
Josh Benti, Homeless Initiative Project Director for the Greater Green Bay Blueprint to End and Prevent Homelessness, raised concerns about the proposal's potential impact.
"I think there's a lot of unintended consequences in the ordinance," Benti said.
Residents who spoke at the meeting argued that the ban would criminalize homelessness and punish people who have nowhere else to go.
"For some, public spaces are the only place left where people can stay without being punished," one speaker said during the meeting.
Board members acknowledged that while the issue of safety and accessibility in parks and public places needs to be addressed, they don't need a new ordinance to accomplish that goal.
"We don't need an ordinance to make that happen," a board member said during the discussion.
Benti noted that the village already has existing ordinances that address problematic behaviors in public spaces.
"They have ordinances on the books that criminalize and punish public drug use and things like that, those are things they can be enforcing," Benti said.
Similar camping bans have been implemented in other Wisconsin communities including Neenah, Fond du Lac and Oshkosh, where a permit is required for camping in public spaces.
The Ashwaubenon board indicated they want to take more time to explore alternative solutions and plan to meet with Benti to discuss future options for addressing encampments.
"It means we have a wide open road for what the solution can be," Benti said. "It doesn't have to be one exact thing, it can be a lot of different things as we address specifically encampments."
The board intends to meet with local leaders to gather more ideas on how to address the issue moving forward.
