Fargo city leaders present proposal to help solve homelessness problem

FARGO, N.D. (Valley News Live) - The city of Fargo is looking for a solution to its homelessness problem.

Local health officials say about 40 people are consistently sleeping outside, including at least a handful who sleep outside even in winter.

“What we want along the river, we want it to be clean and safe,” said commissioner Dave Piepkorn, during an informational meeting Monday. “Right now, it is not clean and safe.”

“Are we making it too easy to be homeless in Fargo?” questioned commissioner Michelle Turnberg.

In June, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that local governments can fine and arrest people for being homeless.

But city leaders say the homeless shelter is already at capacity, and Fargo Police say the jail is already at capacity.

“We already don’t have room at the jail right now,” says David Zibolski, Chief of Police. “So we wouldn’t have an option to physically move all of them. And on the other side of the coin, once they’re out of the jail, they’ll probably be right back to that kind of environment.”

The city of considering a proposal to ban camping within 30 feet of bike trails and within 100 feet of critical infrastructure, including bridges. Another part of their potential solution is developing a “Fargo Streets to Housed’ pilot program.

“What we know is when a community only uses a ‘no camping’ ordinance to move camps, that is not a long-term strategy,” said Chandler Esslinger with Fargo-Cass Public Health. “They will move to an area often just a few yards from where the camp was before.” She says the only long-term solution is to find permanent housing, but right now those options are limited.

The proposal was approved by city commission, Monday night.