Photo by Eric Ayres A notice was posted Wednesday at Wheeling’s exempted homeless camp near Wheeling Creek, just hours after a majority of city council members recommended closing the camp for winter. The camp is expected to close on Dec. 1.

WHEELING – Less than 24 hours after a majority of Wheeling City Council members voted to recommend the closure of the city’s exempted homeless encampment, an official notice was posted at the camp alerting residents that the camp will be closed effective Dec. 1.

Wednesday’s notice, signed by Wheeling City Manager Robert Herron and dated Oct. 22, cited the city’s ordinance prohibiting camping on public property, which was approved by city council in 2023.

The remote site south of the entrance of the Peninsula Cemetery near Wheeling Creek – formerly the site of a city dog pound – had been exempted from the ban by the city manager and has been used as a centralized homeless refuge since last winter. The exempted camp had been relocated to the dog pound property from a previous location further down the creek along what is known as the Maintenance Trail, where the exempted camp was originally established after the camping ban was enacted.

All members of city council this week, with the exception of Councilman Ty Thorngate, voted to recommend the closure of the exempted camp for the winter. Those supporting the recommendation noted that they did not wish to provide an option for people to stay out in the cold when shelter beds and other options are available.

Wheeling Mayor Denny Magruder described the exempted homeless camp as a “failure” for both the residents of the camp and the neighboring citizens.

Heads of local nonprofit organizations have since disagreed with the assertion that there are enough beds in local shelters to accommodate Wheeling’s growing homeless population.

Return to theintelligencer.net later for more on this developing story.