05/11/2026
Friends,the future of the Frances Cate park encampment, home to 35 people, is in jeopardy.
Tomorrow during a conference without public comment, council will decide how to direct NPD to enforce anti-homeless laws in city parks.
We have heard, even from councilors we consider friends, that we should be talking to county commissioners about this instead, or that they wonât talk to us until they âtalk to legal,â and that the âplanâ will likely be to start issuing citations (yes, less cruel than arrests, but also something that makes getting housed infinitely harder). Some of the councilors comment on how clean the camp is, how hard folks are trying, saying that the complaints theyâre getting arenât about specific behaviors, just that homeless people are visible.
We recognize the difficult position our city officials are in. They are afraid of legal and environmental consequences, and afraid of the people complaining that homeless people exist. The fear is valid, but the backing down is not. This council was elected because they said they had creative solutions, they recognized that municipal government is the place where citizens can be truly heard, and they want a safe and equitable Norman.
But no councilor can answer the obvious, central question, the question that matters most because itâs about peopleâs right to exist: Where should these people go?
We are hearing about expansions to the current City Care building, which we applaud (would have applauded years ago when we were told such improvements werenât a good investment), but that doesnât do anything for people whose existence will be treated as illegal after 10pm on Wednesday.
In times of emergency, we have to be creative, break norms, and meet the reality in front of us. There is another way. All cities and states use selective enforcement of law. If youâve ever driven 40 in that stretch of Robinson thatâs 35, gotten a little boozy in public on game days, or sprinted across Main Street where you know youâre not supposed to cross on Art Walk nights, you have benefited from selective enforcement. We can choose how we enforce our laws, and if some of them donât make sense because we are in a housing crisis it is reasonable to concentrate on supporting the encampment to be as safe as possible rather than issuing citations or making arrests.
To be frank, we donât have a lot of hope that council will make the brave choice here, weâve pretty much been told itâs done. But if you felt relief and excitement on election night, and now feel as disappointed, distressed, and despondent as we do, we encourage you to reach out via email now and make public comments at tomorrowâs council meeting after the conference. This will be after the decision is made, but for any meaningful change to happen, council needs to know that the people of Norman need more. Meanwhile, our work continues no matter where the city lands.
