{"id":629840,"date":"2025-08-20T16:41:14","date_gmt":"2025-08-20T20:41:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vtdigger.org\/?p=629840"},"modified":"2025-08-20T16:41:21","modified_gmt":"2025-08-20T20:41:21","slug":"montpelier-amends-public-camping-policy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vtdigger.org\/2025\/08\/20\/montpelier-amends-public-camping-policy\/","title":{"rendered":"Montpelier amends public camping policy"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"800\" data-attachment-id=\"607550\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/vtdigger.org\/2024\/11\/20\/montpelier-council-eyes-job-cuts-to-avert-24-tax-increase-in-fy26\/city-of-montpelier-approves-flyi\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/vtdigger.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/City-of-Montpelier-approves-flyi.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"1536,1024\" data-comments-opened=\"0\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"City-of-Montpelier-approves-flyi\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;Montpelier City Hall. Photo by Carla Occaso\/The Bridge&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/vtdigger.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/City-of-Montpelier-approves-flyi-300x200.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/vtdigger.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/City-of-Montpelier-approves-flyi-1200x800.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/vtdigger.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/City-of-Montpelier-approves-flyi-1200x800.jpg\" alt=\"A historic building with a clock tower features two flagpoles. One flag is an American flag and the other is a rainbow pride flag. A tree is visible to the right.\" class=\"wp-image-607550\" srcset=\"https:\/\/vtdigger.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/City-of-Montpelier-approves-flyi-1200x800.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/vtdigger.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/City-of-Montpelier-approves-flyi-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/vtdigger.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/City-of-Montpelier-approves-flyi-125x83.jpg 125w, https:\/\/vtdigger.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/City-of-Montpelier-approves-flyi-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/vtdigger.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/City-of-Montpelier-approves-flyi-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/vtdigger.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/City-of-Montpelier-approves-flyi-400x267.jpg 400w, https:\/\/vtdigger.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/City-of-Montpelier-approves-flyi-706x471.jpg 706w, https:\/\/vtdigger.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/City-of-Montpelier-approves-flyi.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Montpelier City Hall. Photo by Carla Occaso\/The Bridge<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p><em>This story by Matthew Thomas <a href=\"https:\/\/thebridgevt.org\/2025\/08\/montpelier-amends-public-camping-policy\/\">was first published<\/a> in The Montpelier Bridge on Aug. 19, 2025.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At a time when Montpelier is overwhelmed by increasing numbers of people experiencing homelessness \u2014 and President Donald Trump has decreed that homeless people be removed from public spaces \u2014 the Montpelier City Council discussed amendments to the city\u2019s public camping policy at Wednesday\u2019s city council meeting.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The amended policy proposed by the City Manager\u2019s Office passed along with two amendments during the meeting: one, proposed by Councilor Pelin Kohn, stipulated that the policy be reviewed again in six months; the other, by Councilor Cary Brown, removed the language from the city manager\u2019s amendment designating all city parks as \u201cHigh-Sensitivity Areas,\u201d passing with help from the mayor\u2019s tie-breaking vote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe city\u2019s approach to camping in the city has not changed, and we\u2019re not suggesting it would at this time,\u201d said Acting City Manager Kelly Murphy. Murphy added that while the city does not allow public camping, it is also not looking to roust those who camp who aren\u2019t causing a disturbance. So long as they are not doing so in \u201cHigh-Sensitivity Areas,\u201d a hot topic during discussion of proposed amendments to the city\u2019s encampment policy.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group alignwide has-light-blue-background-color has-background\" style=\"padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--50);padding-right:var(--wp--preset--spacing--50);padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--50);padding-left:var(--wp--preset--spacing--50)\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-1c1b4f74 wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-left has-primary-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-c0213cbd22f6b8fbb5ef50a67f12df73\" style=\"padding-bottom:0\">READ MORE<\/h5>\n\n\n\t<div\n\t\tclass=\"wp-block-newspack-blocks-homepage-articles  wpnbha show-image image-alignleft ts-4 is-2 is-landscape mobile-stack  has-text-align-left\"\n\t\tstyle=\"\"\n\t\t>\n\t\t<div data-posts data-current-post-id=\"629840\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t<article data-post-id=\"608555\"\n\t\tclass=\"tag-berlin-police-department tag-good-samaritan-haven tag-motel-program tag-vermont-department-for-children-and-families category-health category-public-safety type-post post-has-image\"\n\t\t\t\t>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figure class=\"post-thumbnail\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/vtdigger.org\/2024\/12\/04\/its-heartbreaking-death-at-berlin-encampment-comes-days-after-wolcott-deaths\/\" rel=\"bookmark\" tabindex=\"-1\" aria-hidden=\"true\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"900\" src=\"https:\/\/vtdigger.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/homeless-presser-6-20241015-1200x900.jpg?crop=1\" class=\"attachment-newspack-article-block-landscape-large size-newspack-article-block-landscape-large wp-post-image\" alt=\"\u2018It\u2019s heartbreaking&#8217;: Death at Berlin encampment comes days after Wolcott deaths\" data-hero-candidate=\"1\" srcset=\"https:\/\/vtdigger.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/homeless-presser-6-20241015-1200x900.jpg?crop=1 1200w, https:\/\/vtdigger.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/homeless-presser-6-20241015-800x600.jpg?crop=1 800w, https:\/\/vtdigger.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/homeless-presser-6-20241015-600x450.jpg?crop=1 600w, https:\/\/vtdigger.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/homeless-presser-6-20241015-400x300.jpg?crop=1 400w, https:\/\/vtdigger.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/homeless-presser-6-20241015-200x150.jpg?crop=1 200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 34.9rem) calc(100vw - 2rem), (max-width: 53rem) calc(8 * (100vw \/ 12)), (min-width: 53rem) calc(6 * (100vw \/ 12)), 100vw\" data-attachment-id=\"601069\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/vtdigger.org\/homeless-presser-6-20241015\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/vtdigger.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/homeless-presser-6-20241015.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"2500,1650\" data-comments-opened=\"0\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;2.8&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;Glenn Russell&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;NIKON Z 6&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;Julie Bond of Good Samaritan Haven in Barre speaks during a press conference on the homelessness crisis at the State House in Montpelier on Tuesday, October 15, 2024. Photo by Glenn Russell\\\/VTDigger&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1729006821&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;Glenn Russell&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;150&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;4000&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.008&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;homeless-presser-6 20241015&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"homeless-presser-6 20241015\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;Julie Bond of Good Samaritan Haven in Barre speaks during a press conference on the homelessness crisis at the State House in Montpelier on Tuesday, October 15, 2024. Photo by Glenn Russell\/VTDigger&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/vtdigger.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/homeless-presser-6-20241015-300x198.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/vtdigger.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/homeless-presser-6-20241015-1200x792.jpg\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure><!-- .featured-image -->\n\t\t\n\t\t<div class=\"entry-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"entry-title\"><a href=\"https:\/\/vtdigger.org\/2024\/12\/04\/its-heartbreaking-death-at-berlin-encampment-comes-days-after-wolcott-deaths\/\" rel=\"bookmark\">\u2018It\u2019s heartbreaking&#8217;: Death at Berlin encampment comes days after Wolcott deaths<\/a><\/h2>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"entry-meta\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"byline\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"author-prefix\">by<\/span> <span class=\"author vcard\"><a class=\"url fn n\" href=\"https:\/\/vtdigger.org\/author\/carly-berlin\/\">Carly Berlin<\/a><\/span>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span><!-- .author-name -->\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<time class=\"entry-date published\" datetime=\"2024-12-04T11:53:04-05:00\">December 4, 2024, 11:53 am<\/time><time class=\"updated\" datetime=\"2024-12-04T15:32:57-05:00\">December 4, 2024, 3:32 pm<\/time>\t\t\t\t<\/div><!-- .entry-meta -->\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div><!-- .entry-wrapper -->\n\t<\/article>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Among the particulars of the amended policy are removing the Montpelier Police Department from tasks such as triaging the city\u2019s response to moving an encampment. The Fire, EMS and Parks departments will now be part of the group notified by the City Manager\u2019s Office of an encampment. The city manager will now coordinate the response, relieving the beleaguered police department from such responsibility.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Murphy said that her proposed amendments were not intended to be transformative. Rather, she said, they sought to bring the policy in line with de-facto city practice and also to account for current staff capacity. For example, Murphy cited the current practice of storing items cleared out of unattended encampments for 90 days; her office proposed the time limit be amended to 30 days so as to line up with the city\u2019s actual storage capacity.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Councilor Adrienne Gil said she\u2019s not interested in talking about changes until the city\u2019s partners have also reviewed current policy and had a chance to offer input. \u201cWe need guidance in enforcement,\u201d Murphy said in response. To which Gil replied, \u201cWe need an emergency meeting with our partners to go through this policy to have an understanding about what we want in our community. \u2026 Just having one side of the story, updating a policy, is not sufficient.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Councilor Cary Brown agreed with Gil. \u201cIf we\u2019re going to review this policy, it does need to be with everyone involved,&#8221; she said. \u201cI think it\u2019s a good idea to pull this policy out, to dust it off, take a look at it, because we went through a lot to put it in place.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Brown did take issue with one of the proposals, which she deemed an \u201cextremely substantive change,\u201d a line in the notification letter affixed to the policy, which was amended to designate all city parks as \u201chigh-sensitivity areas,\u201d and, therefore, subjecting any encampments within them to removal. According to Brown, this change negates the spirit and meaning of the entire original policy.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Contained in Murphy\u2019s response was the paradox that has flummoxed the city for years and would return throughout the meeting: If public spaces are increasingly off limits to camping, where are unhoused people supposed to go?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Councilor Sal Alfano said the policy has \u201cmany inconsistencies\u201d and suggested the whole thing be scrapped and the city start over. As an example, he noted where the policy states that shelter will be offered when moving campers out of prohibited areas. The problem is that the city has no shelter space to offer.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Members of the public weighed in as well.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Richard Sheir, of Montpelier, suggested that matters related to the parks fall under the jurisdiction of the elected Parks Commission, and perhaps not the city council.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Montpelier resident David Kitchen spoke about the encampments by the river near where he lives, and said he has instructed his son to no longer ride his bicycle on the bike path near the transit station but instead ride in traffic, as it&#8217;s \u201csafer,\u201d according to Kitchen.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI rode through there the other day,\u201d Kitchen said, \u201cand two individuals blocked the path and they could tell I wasn\u2019t going to stop. They split. One guy gives me the \u2018finger gun,\u2019 pulling his trigger. The other guy mentions something about \u2018destruction,\u2019 that he\u2019s going to \u2018destroy\u2019 me.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Montpelier residents Stan Brinkerhoff and TJ Poor both said that they do not allow their children to use the bike path by themselves. Poor said his daughter is afraid of using the bike path, and when she is downtown often crosses the street many times to avoid confrontation.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Bonnie Robertson, a 30-year resident of Montpelier, described her experience of using the bike path, citing broken glass on the ground, litter down by the river, fighting, and \u201chalf-naked\u201d people relieving themselves by the river, among other examples of disorder. While noting that she does not want to see people moved, Robertson said \u201cI would like to see the law being enforced,\u201d a sentiment that was echoed throughout the meeting.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t have a solution for homelessness,\u201d Robertson said. \u201cBut I don\u2019t see why we can\u2019t enforce the laws that are already on the books.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Multiple residents, while expressing empathy for the unhoused, also registered their discontent with what they characterized as lawlessness by some members of the city\u2019s homeless encampments, prohibiting use of public spaces by the larger public. Poor said the problem is bigger than Montpelier and should be tackled by the state.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe empathy and compassion that was well intentioned with the policy has really enabled entitlement,\u201d Poor said. \u201cEntitlement that these public places belong only to a small portion of those who are unhoused, really, and not to the rest of the community. We\u2019re making a choice without policy. We\u2019ve devoted our priority. We\u2019ve done it away from our children, done it away from the economic vitality of the community, and that really needs to change. Our town is unwelcoming now.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Contained in the policy change was the paradox that has flummoxed the city for years: If public spaces are increasingly off limits to camping, where are unhoused people supposed to go?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1825,"featured_media":607550,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"single-feature.php","format":"standard","meta":{"newspack_ads_suppress_ads":false,"newspack_popups_has_disabled_popups":false,"newspack_sponsor_sponsorship_scope":"","newspack_sponsor_native_byline_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_native_category_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_style":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_placement":"inherit","apple_news_api_created_at":"2025-08-20T20:41:19Z","apple_news_api_id":"bea1e5f9-b612-41de-8308-d3b133f1036c","apple_news_api_modified_at":"2025-08-20T20:41:25Z","apple_news_api_revision":"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA==","apple_news_api_share_url":"https:\/\/apple.news\/AvqHl-bYSQd6DCNOxM_EDbA","apple_news_cover_media_provider":"image","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_cover_video_id":0,"apple_news_cover_video_url":"","apple_news_cover_embedwebvideo_url":"","apple_news_is_hidden":"","apple_news_is_paid":"","apple_news_is_preview":"","apple_news_is_sponsored":"","apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":[],"apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"everlit_article_id":"","everlit_hide_embed":false,"everlit_embed_size":"","everlit_generation_settings":[],"_everlit_article_id":"","_everlit_hide_embed":false,"_everlit_embed_size":"","_everlit_generation_settings":[],"_everlit_content_hash":"","_everlit_metadata_hash":"","_newspack_byline_active":false,"_newspack_byline":"","newspack_featured_image_position":"","newspack_post_subtitle":"Contained in the policy change was the paradox that has flummoxed the city for years: If public spaces are increasingly off limits to camping, where are unhoused people supposed to go?","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_show_updated_date":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[161372,171840,161361,161373],"tags":[7185,1931,1932],"newspack_spnsrs_tax":[],"govpack_profile_tax":[],"coauthors":[164957],"class_list":["post-629840","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-central-vermont","category-housing","category-regional","category-washington-county","tag-homelessness","tag-montpelier","tag-montpelier-city-council","entry"],"apple_news_notices":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.8 - 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