Minneapolis Parks Department disbands encampment at The Mall

(FOX 9) - The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board disbanded an encampment at The Mall Thursday morning.

The Parks Department said eight people were displaced from the area along the Greenway after written notices Nov. 30 and Dec. 7. According to a release from the department, all of the residents were “offered shelter assistance by Hennepin County,” but the offers were declined. The temporary encampment permit for that area expired Oct. 22.

According to the city, the location is not a safe place for an encampment. It reports fires on Sept. 28, Nov. 3 and Dec. 1, a fatal overdose and the fact that the tents are in a plow wake zone, where snow from the street is pushed during plowing operations, as reasons the area is uninhabitable during the winter.

The MPRB Outreach staff said it made daily visits to the encampment since October, but that all offers of emergency shelter were declined.