PHOTO: Courtesy of WLUK
ASHWAUBENON, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — On Tuesday night, the Ashwaubenon Village Board discussed taking up an ordinance which would prohibit camping on village-owned property.
Brought forward within the past month, the ordinance would have included parks, rights-of-way and parking lots.
The village cited reasons such as public health and sanitation and safety concerns as reasons for bringing forth the ordinance, but some residents argued the ordinance would only create more issues for the homeless community.
The original recommendation was to approve the ordinance.
“When I came in here, I never really made up my mind, but I was kind of leaning towards going with this proposal. And that’s a tough thing to do, to get in front of an audience — really hard. And I appreciate what you guys did here,” said Village Trustee Chris Zirbel.
“For some, public spaces are the only place they can exist safely without being pushed out or punished. This kind of ordinance doesn’t make homelessness go away. It just makes it harder for people to live,” said Samantha Musil, a resident of Ashwaubenon.
The voices of concerned community members made a difference Tuesday night, with the board deciding to deny the motion.
“We want to work together and make this not a problem that would push you to somebody else. Something that we’re working with the community in the area and trying to help these people, so I would make motion to deny this ordinance,” said Village Trustee Tracy Flucke.
As part of the motion to deny, the village will collaborate with the Brown County Housing and Homeless Coalition to try and find the best steps forward.
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