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Residents protest Sunday feedings at Riverview Park; council directs staff to return with options in July
Summary
Melbourne — Residents from the Riverview Park neighborhood told council on June 10 that weekly Sunday feedings at the park have been followed by a sharp rise in homeless encampments, drug use and sanitation problems near playgrounds.
Melbourne — Residents from the Riverview Park neighborhood pressed the City Council during public comment on June 10 to address a recent increase in homeless encampments, drug use and sanitation problems they say now occur on and around the park following weekly Sunday feedings hosted by a volunteer organization.
Neighbors described multiple incidents including overdoses, tenting near the river, people sleeping on benches and soiling of park areas adjacent to new playgrounds. The speaker who presented a petition said a published event two weeks earlier drew about 80 people and left families reluctant to use the park during Sunday afternoons.
Council response and next steps - Vice Mayor Newman and other council members acknowledged the seriousness of the complaints and said staff would work with police, parks and the city attorney to identify options. - Staff and the mayor said they will bring the issue back to council in July for formal discussion and possible policy or operational changes, including whether to remove Riverview Park from the set of parks available for mass feeding permits or to require permit relocations or other conditions. The city manager and city attorney described prior policy: a 2014 council action established rules that allowed mass feedings in parks with a permit, and council members said that policy was passed under different park conditions. - Interim enforcement and site-management measures were discussed during the meeting: increased police visibility and clearing of brush to reduce concealed camping were mentioned as near-term steps. Residents asked for more consistent enforcement of existing rules (no sleeping on pavilions and park benches) and for brush-clearing near the river bank.
Why it matters: Residents and council members emphasized that Riverview Park has had recent capital investments intended for families and children and that the current pattern of large weekly feedings adjacent to playgrounds is limiting safe use of those improvements. Council members said they did not intend to curtail charitable feeding in general, but to find a solution that protects children—s play areas and public safety while preserving access to services for people in need.
Speakers and evidence - Joanne Danko, a Riverview Park resident, presented a petition and photographs and described persistent encampments, public drug use and the presence of people sleeping in the park. - Vice Mayor Newman said he and the city manager have reviewed the 2014 authorization that had allowed mass feedings in parks under a permit; staff said the city attorney and city manager had met earlier with the resident and would return options to council at the July meeting. - Community officers Mark Lang and Ryan Allen were named by speakers as being responsive to resident complaints; a deputy police chief was present at the meeting and referenced by speakers as the department contact for enforcement.
Action at the meeting - Council took direction (not a final policy vote) and asked staff to return in July with options on how to address the immediate public-safety and park-use concerns at Riverview Park, including interim enforcement measures and options for relocation of service activities. The mayor and staff agreed to prepare legal and operational recommendations in time for the July agenda.
Clarifying detail - Petition and reports from residents describe Sunday afternoon feedings (3 p.m. to 5 p.m.) near playground pavilions and playground areas; an event two weeks prior was reported by residents to have served some 80 people. Residents said the city adopted a parks feeding permit policy in February 2014; council members said that policy predated recent investments at Riverview Park and that staff will revisit the policy in light of current park uses.
Next steps: Staff was asked to return to the July council meeting with recommended operational and policy options for handling mass feedings and for interim measures to protect park users and neighborhood access.
