A Butte-Silver Bow commissioner and some residents say “urban camping” is becoming a serious problem in Butte and they want local laws to regulate it.
“Communities across the country and here in Montana are grappling with the public health, safety and environmental changes posed by unsanctioned encampments in parks and other places,” Commissioner Trudy Healy said at last Wednesday’s council meeting.
“Several Montana communities have already enacted ordinances to address this issue, such as Bozeman and Missoula,” she said. “However, Butte-Silver Bow currently lacks specific ordinances that directly regulate urban camping.”
Several residents urged action, too, saying the campers are often homeless transients who congregate in parks, walking trails and near homes, have no sanitary facilities and sometimes cause problems.
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The Council of Commissioners as seen from outside during an