Occupy Cedar Rapids Saga Update - Updated

I stopped at Occupy Cedar Rapids' camp site at the corner of M Avenue and First Street NW this morning. It was after the 8 a.m. deadline set by the city for the group to remove personal property for the site, but no city workers had come to enforce the order.

What the city's order for property removal has accomplished so far is to grow the protest and raise its profile. Yesterday afternoon, there were a handful of people at the camp. This morning, there were 20 to 30 folks gathered around the campfire, with lots of cars lining nearby streets. City vehicles drove around the site but none stopped. A city crew was across M Ave. trimming trees on neighboring property.

Bob Wilson, Occupy Cedar Rapids' attorney says there will be a hearing in Linn County District Court Monday at 1:30 p.m. on the group's request for an injunction against the city's property removal notice. He argues the protesters have a right to camp and exercise their constitutional assembly and speech rights on greenway property purchased with federal dollars.

So what's the city's next move? Not sure. I've sent some emails and placed some calls but no response yet.

I spoke to Mayor Ron Corbett, who disputes the notion that the city is trying to evict or clear out the protest. He contends the protest can continue indefinitely so long as Occupy Cedar Rapids does not accumulate personal property on the site in violation of a city ordinance.

"They can protest until they die, if that's what they desire. But we have an ordinance against accumulating personal property. It's really a very minor issue," Corbett said.

Corbett said he wasn't sure how city staff would proceed today.

I think it would be ill-advised for the city to march into the middle of the protest and try to remove property. As I said yesterday, I think they'd be better off letting this ride until a judge weighs in.

UPDATE 11:52 -- It looks like the city is going to "monitor" the camp between now and the hearing.

From a news release:

City Continues to Monitor Use of City-Owned Land

CEDAR RAPIDS, IA – November 22, 2011 – Today, the City of Cedar Rapids noted a reduction in the amount of personal property accumulated on City-owned land at the corners of M Avenue NW and 1st Street NW by the Occupy Cedar Rapids group.

At 9:30 a.m. this morning, the City received notice of a Petition at Law and Demand for Jury Trial and Petition for an Injunction from the Iowa District Court of Linn County regarding this matter. As part of this notice, a hearing has been set for Monday, November 28, 2011 at 1:30 p.m.

Until the hearing, the City will continue to monitor the use of the sites and work through the judicial process to find a solution to the situation.