The neighbors of North Lawrence, as well as the community of people who utilize the Lawrence Riverfront Park and Levee are being deeply and negatively impacted by the city of Lawrence’s continued allowance of people living in the woods. 

This is no longer an issue of Covid-19 and the homeless population in Lawrence having nowhere to go. The city parks with high visibility have been cleared out and cleaned up, but the city continues to ignore, or legitimately address, the issue of people living in the woods of the Riverfront Park. This has become a public health and safety issue for the North Lawrence Community. 

Residents of North Lawrence organized dumpsters being delivered, and the residents cleaned up the woods when the city failed to address the tremendous amount of trash that was left in the early spring and summer. Among the trash there were reportedly buckets of urine and fecal matter and well as drug paraphernalia, including hypodermic needles. 

The people who continue living in the Riverfront Park have set dozens of fires- the most recent being an actual explosion on the levee at 6:30 am on October 2 (the second fire call made by just one resident that same week).  Residents of the neighborhood have been threatened that they will be “shot” if they bother the homeless camps in the woods, and the people living in the woods can be heard at all hours of the night, often yelling or screaming and fighting. Additionally residents of North Lawrence report an increase in stolen goods, property damage, and even livestock being targeted.  

Additionally, the riparian ecosystem that residents of Lawrence community have worked to restore is suffering damage, and the wildlife North Lawrencians have always enjoyed has been driven away by the continued chaos of the camps of people taking over the woodland habitat. There would be less harm to the ecosystem if the City of Lawrence would allow the camps to continue in the visible city parks where outhouses could be places and services would be more accessible. 

There is a sign on the gate of the Riverfront park stating that the “gate” closes at 11pm and reopens at 6am. This implies that the park closes at 11pm. There are no posted rules or regulations regarding camping or fires. If the city intends to continue to allow camps in the woods then it needs to be regulated. Designated camp sites need to be made available with fire pits that can thereby can be monitored. 

We implore the to city find a SOLUTION to the issue of the people living in the Riverfront Park before we are dealing with problems even greater than fires, explosions, and other crimes. If the city was able to relocate people living in the more visible parks in the city of Lawrence, we trust they can come up with a solution for the Riverfront park.