Jill Schramm/MDN Ward County Engineer Dana Larsen, left, speaks to the Ward County Commission about a homeless encampment Tuesday as Sheriff Robert Roed listens at right.

An unauthorized homeless campground on a county-owned island property is raising safety concerns.

The Ward County Commission approved an ordinance on first reading Tuesday that would establish grounds to remove squatters and campers. County Engineer Dana Larsen and Sheriff Robert Roed requested the ordinance.

Larsen said individuals are crossing over to the island because the river is low. He said the county obtained possession of the property years ago when river deadloops were created as a flood control measure. He described an assortment of tents and other contraptions devised for housing on the property.

The property is located east of Holiday Village Mobile Home Park in southeast Minot.

Roed said he took deputies with him to investigate after being contacted by Larsen.

“Just follow the trail of trash,” he said of finding the route onto the island. “There’s a lot of trash down there.”

The department arrested four people with warrants and found one registered sex offender.

“There have been a lot of reports of theft in the area. I talked to the people who are camping down there. They’re also having stuff stolen from them,” Roed said. “There’s probably seven encampments. They said there’s anywhere from that to maybe 15 or more people at night. Depends on who shows up at night. People come and go.”

Some campers are set up for long-term residency with impressive makeshift housing and outhouses, he said. However, he added, “I don’t think it’s a safe environment on that island.”

The ordinance is not designed to make the property totally inaccessible because children have fished there and the county has allowed hunting, Roed said. However, the ordinance would give the Sheriff’s Department authority to order long-term campers to move. No action is being taken currently because the department lacks authority.

The ordinance gives people 48 hours to remove their property. If property is not removed, the county can take possession and discard garbage. Items of more value will be held for 28 days and then discarded if not claimed.

Individuals who do not leave within 48 hours can be charged with trespassing, a Class B misdemeanor.

“Closing this area just means they’re going to move somewhere else,” Commissioner Miranda Schuler noted, suggesting the situation be discussed among local entities to arrive at a solution.

The commission discussed whether excluding campers on public land is defensible. Commission Chairman John Fjeldahl urged caution. The county may be obligated to relocate the homeless individuals or could face a challenge related to rights to public land, he said.

Roed cited a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that government can remove homeless encampments.

“I have no problem with allowing people to go back in there, but regulating the use is a different story,” Commissioner Ron Merritt said. “We have people that are homeless that are living there, and that is a completely separate issue. You’ve got sanitation issues. You’ve got safety issues. I have no problem regulating it, but I would have a problem saying you just can’t go back there any more. It’s publicly owned property. They should be able to use it.”

Commissioner Jason Olson said allowing the encampment to continue to build will produce a larger safety issue with potential creation of an open landfill, sewage dumping into the river and drug use.

“It’s a significant problem that needs to be addressed. I think it’s a common sense solution,” he said of the ordinance. “It’s going to prevent possibly other things that could be real tragedies.”

With initial passage of the ordinance, the county will schedule a public hearing in August before taking final action on second reading.