Monday, May 21, 2012
By David Hench dhench@mainetoday.com
Staff Writer
PORTLAND — Portland officials planned today to present Occupy Maine protesters camping in Lincoln Park with a notice to vacate, though demonstrators will have the weekend to break camp and clean up.
The city delivered a dumpster to the park this morning at 8 a.m. to assist the cleanup. The city originally planned to give the protesters a notice to vacate and at least two days to clean up. But after discussions with the group's attorney this morning, the city opted to give them the weekend to move out.
The order becomes effective at 8 a.m. Monday, said city spokeswoman Nicole Clegg.
Protesters were ordered to leave the park last month but the city held off enforcing the order until a lawsuit filed in Cumberland County Superior Court could be heard.
The judge ruled Wednesday that the city's ordinance prohibiting overnight camping in city parks was not a violation of protesters' First Amendment rights, paving the way for the city to enforce the ordinance.
The city has agreed to work with protesters to give them enough time to remove their tents and other belongings and to clean up the park while still clearing the area in a timely fashion.
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