Reindahl Park houseless campers can stay for now while City weighs legal options
May 19, 2021 4:27 PM
Jamie Perez
Updated:
MADISON, Wis. — After close to a 10-hour City Council meeting, council members voted unanimously to delay a decision on a proposed resolution that would prevent people living at Reindahl Park from being evicted.
The decision, made around 4:30 a.m. Wednesday, came after hours of public comment and advice from the City’s Attorneys that there were too many legal issues that still needed to be considered before a final decision was made.
Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway called it a “complicated legal landscape.”
Assistant City Attorney Doran Viste cited a number of legal issues with pushing people out of Reindahl Park and voting on a proposed resolution that would prevent eviction without considering legal ramifications. Viste said the legal issues ranged from legally defined campgrounds, zoning issues, public health concerns, the authority of parks commissioners, the use of temporary permissible encampments, etc.