The plaintiffs and a handful of other Park Hill residents filed appeals with the board related to both the zoning administrator's decision to allow for safe-camping sites across the city and the approval of a site-specific permit for the church parking lot. A hearing on that challenge is slated for July 27.
During today's hearing, opponents focused on what they perceived to be negative effects of the existing safe-camping sites, especially the one set up last month outside Park Hill United Methodist Church.
Kurt Monigle, one of the plaintiffs in the original lawsuit who lives about two blocks from the church, presented pictures of people sleeping on the grassy median along Forest Parkway. "This is something we've never had in Park Hill. Obviously, the camp is attracting a new type of activity that we don't like, and it's scary for us," Monigle said.