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Public comments press council to change tent‑camping rules; council schedules work study on time/place/manner and resolution review
Summary
Public commenters and local businesses urged Roseburg City Council to revise its tent‑camping resolution and to adopt clearer standards for organized, managed camps. Council members agreed to pursue a work study and asked staff and the homeless commission to evaluate proposed changes.
Multiple residents and business owners used the public‑comment period to press the Roseburg City Council for changes to the city’s tent‑camping policies and to urge faster, more consistent enforcement of prohibited camping in environmentally sensitive or high‑impact areas.
Bernie Woodard, who said he runs several managed camps, asked the council to amend the city’s tent‑camping resolution to allow mail delivery at camp locations, permit more stable shelter options (for example, small yurts or platform systems rather than just fabric tents), increase allowable site duration from 29 days to 90 days in some circumstances, clarify the prohibition on open flames to allow factory‑manufactured, marshal‑approved cooking devices, and to base tent counts on available square footage rather than a hard cap of 10 tents. “We need to create opportunities so people can move themselves forward and get more stable,” Woodard said, and he asked the city to provide a written letter of approval for his existing, reviewed camps.
Therapy Plus, a clinic on Northeast Stevens Street, described repeated safety, sanitation and property‑damage incidents near an encampment adjacent to its building and told council members it had made multiple calls to police. Ashley Hatfield, representing Therapy Plus, said staff had been threatened and that the business had spent thousands on security and cleanup; Hatfield warned owners would pursue a lawsuit if the location did not change.
Other public commenters urged compassion and housing solutions. Alice Williams described her own experience being priced out of housing and living in a car; she told council that cleaning camps without providing housing will only displace people to other parts of the city. Colleen Nepper described health impacts from a statewide lighting standard and said statewide changes to fluorescent/LED lighting can unintentionally harm people with certain medical conditions; that comment was noted during public comment but is separate from camping policy.
Council response and next steps Council members and staff discussed next steps after public comment. Councilor Mikalek (first name not stated in the transcript) urged placing a formal review of the tent‑camping resolution on a future agenda. City Manager Nikki Messenger and council members said a work study would be the best way to assemble multiple related topics — tent camping rules, time/place/manner provisions and any additional protections for environmentally sensitive areas — and to let the homeless commission review proposed changes before council action. A staff member also announced the Douglas County point‑in‑time count will be held Wednesday, Jan. 29 at Saint Joseph Catholic Church, and council members asked staff to publicize that event.
What the transcript shows and does not show - The council did not vote on ordinance changes during this meeting; the record shows public comment and an agreement to pursue a work study and to have the homeless commission review time/place/manner issues. - Specific regulatory language requested by commenters (e.g., changing the 29‑day limit to 90 days, permitting yurts) would require staff review and formal council action in a later meeting.
Ending Council members said they will bring a work study onto a future agenda so that the city, the homeless commission and community stakeholders can evaluate potential adjustments to the city’s camping regulations.
