Near the tail end of Monday night’s meeting, the Marshalltown city council discussed what Police Chief Mike Tupper called a significant quality of life issue with individuals living in backyard tents or recreational vehicles (RVs) for extended periods of time.

“The ordinance that we had on the books to deal with that was not really effective, so I consulted with the city attorney and we made some changes that we’re gonna move forward with tonight that we think will help us move forward and more effectively address these problems when they occur,” Tupper said.

The council was considering an ordinance change that effectively bars anyone from camping on private property for more than 14 days a year. The current ordinance requires anyone who plans to use “recreational equipment” — tent, trailer, camper, motor home, as well as converted school buses or other vehicles customarily or ordinarily used for vacation or recreational purpose — as a living quarters for more than two weeks a year to apply for a permit with the city and pay a fee to be allowed up to 60 days, but Tupper said such a permit had never been issued during his 12-year tenure.

“At no time shall a camper parked on a roadway, park, or other public property be occupied or used for dwelling purposes for any period of time except in such areas in parks so designated by the Director of Parks and Recreation,” the proposed ordinance change reads. “At no time shall a camper parked on private property be occupied or used for dwelling purposes, except on a parcel permitting agricultural or single-family residential use, provided such use or occupancy shall not exceed 14 cumulative days in any calendar year. This provision shall not apply to a camper parked upon private property lawfully operated as a campground.”

A punishment is not stipulated for noncompliance, but Tupper said violators would likely receive a fine with no jail time.

As a point of clarification, Councilor Mike Ladehoff made sure the council wasn’t talking about kids who choose to camp out in their backyards for fun, and Tupper responded that they were not and were instead dealing with people who are attempting to do so on a long-term basis.

“We’re talking about people setting up the tent and trying to live there for months or weeks. Kids will still be able to camp in the backyard. Actually, if Uncle Joe comes to visit you with his camper and parks it in the driveway for a couple days, but the people that are trying to live in RVs and tents (are what) we’re trying to address,” Tupper said. “I think that this gives us a more effective enforcement tool. It’s not a silver bullet, but it puts us in the right direction and (on) the right path to deal with the problems.”

Fellow Councilor Gary Thompson said he had heard from several residents who wanted to see an ordinance with “more teeth” and felt a change was necessary. Councilor Gabe Isom credited Tupper for dealing with some of these situations recently and echoed Thompson’s comment, indicating he had also received complaints from constituents in the Second Ward.

“Somehow, issues like this were never taught at chief school, but we’re trying to stay on top of them and they are important quality of life issues,” Tupper said.

The chief added that in some instances, his staff have wondered why he makes areas like campers and RVs, traffic enforcement and parking enforcement a top priority, and his response is that they’re important to the community.

“Honestly, I’ve had more complaints about this type of thing than I have about our road conditions,” Mayor Joel Greer said.

Thompson also sought to remind everyone in the room that the people who are living in these situations are likely doing so for a reason, and he hoped the city would be ready to deal with that reality as the new ordinance is enforced.

“We’ll continue to work with MPACT (the Marshalltown Police and Community Team) to address problems of homelessness, but some people have been unwilling to accept assistance because their option has been ‘I can live in my backyard in my camper,'” Tupper said. “We’re trying to make sure they understand they can’t do that.”

After Thompson asked Tupper if he would prefer waiving second and third readings of the ordinance change, the chief joked that decisions like those were why councilors made the big bucks and said he was ready to move forward either way. A subsequent motion to approve the change carried unanimously, as did a subsequent motion to waive second and third readings so that it could take effect immediately.

In response to a follow-up email, Tupper told the T-R he didn’t have any hard data on how many such incidents have been reported to the MPD as it isn’t a criminal matter, but he did comment on the uptick in homelessness and how he felt communities can address it.

“Homelessness is something I am concerned about and that issue definitely plays into the increase in complaints we have received about people living in campers and tents,” he said. “Homelessness is a complex issue and will require a multi-disciplinary approach from the community to address. City government has a role to play, but local nonprofits and NGOs (non-governmental organizations) will need to be at the discussion table. The NGOs will play a critical role in community efforts to address this growing problem.”

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Contact Robert Maharry at 641-753-6611 ext. 255 or

rmaharry@timesrepublican.com.