MISSOULA — In June 2024, the Missoula City Council passed an ordinance addressing urban camping within city limits.
The ordinance requires the City Council to review it several times a year.
On Wednesday, at a Missoula City Council committee meeting, staff gave an informational presentation on the city's urban camping ordinance.
"We as staff in the administration aren't recommending any changes to the ordinance. We believe that implementation has been successful and consistent with council's original intent," said Dale Bickell, chief administrative officer for the city of Missoula.
Bickell told the council that staff believe the ordinance has been successful, largely because complaints have dropped by more than 65% over the past two years.
"Some of the things we've noticed since the ordinance is that there's a notable decrease in camping within city parks," said Marina Yoshioka, director of the city of Missoula Parks and Recreation Department.
Yoshioka told the council that while the ordinance has reduced camping in city parks, it has also led to displacement.
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That concern was echoed by Council Member Kristen Jordan, who voted against the ordinance when it was introduced nearly two years ago.
"The data shows enforcement has dispersed people away from service hubs. Providers are telling us they can no longer locate their clients, and people who are being actively connected to housing, employment services now have misdemeanor criminal convictions on their records," Jordan said.
However, other council members, including Mike Nugent, said the ordinance has balanced various city and community priorities.
"I think that for me, it's always been about taking a lens that looks at this very broadly and tries to find something that threads a needle of keeping people safe and recognizing that there are issues that create situations that some people have no control over and that there are also within that community, there are also people that choose not to utilize the help or recognize that there are rules that are being broken," Nugent said.
At the time of publishing, no changes to the ordinance have been made.
