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City manager outlines limits of local authority on overnight camping; neighbors and residents criticize use of city parcel
Summary
City manager told the council the city must follow state law when regulating where people may sit, sleep or camp in public; residents criticized a recent use of a city-owned parcel for overnight camping and called for better notice, services and alternatives.
The city manager briefed the Independence City Council on the city's obligations and constraints for regulating public camping, saying the municipality must follow state law and that prior council direction narrowed available options while seeking to protect parks and sidewalks.
"We, as every other city in the state of Oregon, we have to comply with the state law," the city manager said in a summary of a prior work session. She described a subsequent ordinance the council enacted after a work session that allows regulation by location and time and requires operational rules for overnight camping; the ordinance, she said, passed unanimously when brought back to council.
The presentation prompted a string of public comments about a recent encampment on a city-owned, undeveloped parcel at the Ashenfolk/Ashenbold intersection. Resident Connor Young said he appreciated efforts to clear the site but criticized the initial decision to permit people to occupy the land without notice to adjacent neighbors, and warned of "ecological damage" and lack of sanitary amenities. "It should not happen in areas that are not suited for activities that ... such as going to the bathroom," he told the council.
Another resident said the neighborhood had been "appalled" at lack of outreach, that the parcel had been donated for park use, and that many neighbors have limited English proficiency and were not consulted. Several commenters urged the council to seek nonresidential locations and to coordinate more closely with Polk County for shelter placements and services.
Councilors asked for clarification about alternative sites discussed at the work session and whether the city could regulate times and locations. The city manager said officers work with each unhoused person to connect them with Polk County resources but acknowledged long waiting lists for housing.
The council did not take a new formal policy vote at this meeting but discussed monitoring state legislative changes so it can act quickly if guidance changes.
