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Board schedules ordinance workshop; public-camping rule flagged after Supreme Court decision
Summary
The board scheduled an ordinance workshop to review updates and flagged the public-camping ordinance after a June 24 Supreme Court ruling limiting municipal bans on camping where shelter space is unavailable; members agreed to seek legal review before taking the measure to the Select Board and town meeting.
The Rec Advisory Committee set a workshop to review proposed ordinance updates and urged legal review of a public-camping ordinance after a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision.
A board member flagged a June 24 Supreme Court ruling that, as discussed at the meeting, prevents municipalities from enforcing a blanket ban on public camping unless sufficient shelter exists. “Supreme Court ruled that municipalities can't do that unless there's, available shelter space,” a planner explained; members said this raises potential legal issues for the town’s draft ordinance and recommended sending the draft to the town attorney and coordinating with the Select Board prior to town meeting.
Committee members said most of the other ordinance changes are routine updates; the public-camping provision will be a central focus for the April 21 workshop and will require attorney review and possible rewording to avoid conflict with higher-court precedent.
