Although the city and county told Occupy Madison residents they would have to leave their encampment at a county park by Tuesday at noon, people remained at the site as of 7 p.m. Tuesday.
According to Ald. Anita Weier, District 18, Occupy’s current set up at Lake View Hill County Park, located at 1202 Northport Dr., is “illegal” because the group does not have a camping permit.
“They’re not supposed to stay in a park after 10 p.m.,” Weier said. “They’ve violated county ordinances and the County Corporation Council Attorney gave them a notice that they should have been out [Tuesday] at noon.”
But according to Occupy Resident Franjo Majstoric, leaving by 12 p.m. Tuesday was “not going to be possible,” and he said he does not know when Occupy’s 20 to 25 members will vacate the new site.
“I don’t think we’re planning on moving,” he said. “We really have nowhere else to go that’s any different than this site.”
According to Weier, residents of the neighborhood near the county park have emailed city administrators “upset” about Occupy’s movement to a residential neighborhood.
“[Occupy] suddenly appeared Saturday with no warning,” Weier said. “The neighbors were quite concerned, some are fearful.”
The Madison Police Department, according to Weier, received complaints such as liquor law violations, disturbances and trespassing from Madisonians who reside near Occupy’s former East Washington Avenue location.
“That’s the kind of things people are worried about,” Weier said.
County Human Services is working to find alternate places for Occupy residents to stay, and “have found several,” according to Weier. However, officials could not find shelter for some Occupy residents because of their “violent history” at various shelters in the past.
But according to Majstoric, some Occupy residents refuse to accept the city’s housing services not because they do not want to, but because they feel unsafe returning to certain shelters.
Majstoric said he would like to see the city work with Occupy residents and allow them to operate as a community safely among the rest of the people within Madison.
“When we’re moving from camp to camp, we can’t get our foot back in the door in society,” he said. “We’re too busy unsetting tents and setting tents instead of looking for work, instead of doing it is what people need to get back into the community and do their part.”
