Residents press Monroe County officials over homeless encampment; county cites legal limits, recommends private suits

Jill Myers, a resident of Satterberg Road and Old Highway 11, told the Monroe County Commission that a homeless encampment on private property in Philadelphia has caused theft, trespassing, sewage and safety problems and asked what options neighbors have to protect their families.

The county's attorney and the sheriff's office responded that county authority is constrained when an encampment is on private land and recommended private civil suits or reporting criminal violations for enforcement. The county attorney said citizens can file private nuisance suits and urged residents to report law violations so the sheriff's office can investigate.

Why it matters: Neighbors described repeated local public-health and safety concerns that they say are not being addressed by county codes or immediate law-enforcement action. Commissioners and staff said the county does not currently have a general zoning code that would create routine civil enforcement tools for private-property situations.

Myers described specific problems she said neighbors have seen, including alleged open sewage, missing property and drug use. "We do have a homeless community that's there," Myers said during public comment. "Where do we go from here?"

The county attorney explained legal limits when enforcement affects private property: "There's nothing in the world that stops people that are bothered by that from filing a private suit to make nuisance," the county attorney said, adding that the county risks exceeding its authority if it takes enforcement action against private land without a clear ordinance to apply.

Sheriff's Office representatives said law enforcement will act on criminal violations when there is evidence but that many misdemeanor offenses occurring out of officers' presence are difficult to prosecute without corroborating evidence. "Video evidence means a lot to us," a sheriff's office speaker said, encouraging residents to document incidents and report them to detectives so citations and prosecution can follow.

Health and code enforcement staff said they issued a notice to the property owner for failing to provide septic systems and that a ten-day state compliance period had lapsed with no corrective action; they said they would follow up with citations and work with prosecutors when violations continue.

Several residents urged the commission to adopt countywide zoning or code enforcement. Commissioners and staff said adopting and enforcing a zoning code would require a deliberate, county-wide ordinance and an enforcement mechanism applied uniformly; until then, remedies are limited to private litigation or enforcement of existing criminal and health statutes.

Residents said they have begun documenting incidents and recommended using cameras to preserve evidence for prosecutors. The county attorney and the sheriff's office urged residents to continue reporting violations to law enforcement and to consult private counsel if they consider civil suits.

The public comment prompted discussion among commissioners about the scope of county authority and whether to pursue zoning as a long-term solution; no ordinance or formal vote to adopt new zoning was taken at the meeting.

Ending: County staff said they would continue enforcement actions tied to clear statutory violations, the sheriff's office encouraged evidence collection for prosecution, and residents said they would pursue private legal remedies and further documentation while urging the commission to consider code options in future workshops.