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Commissioners ask staff to seek coordinated approach with Redmond on Desert Rise encampment cleanup
Summary
County staff reported Redmond plans to notify and remediate encampments at Desert Rise and 17th Street; commissioners asked staff to draft a letter seeking coordination, add time to upcoming one-on-one meetings with city leaders, and pursue outreach to align priorities between jurisdictions.
Deschutes County commissioners raised concerns about the City of Redmond’s recent decision to begin notification and cleanup actions at the Desert Rise and 17th Street sites, which county staff say could displace roughly 40–50 people and push encampments onto county-managed lands.
Property-management staff explained the county first learned of Redmond’s initiative at a March 2 work group meeting and noted Desert Rise is not in the existing intergovernmental agreement (IGA) prioritization list that includes the DSL land exchange, 17th Street and Core 3 projects. "At no time prior to March 2 was there any discussion at staff level about Desert Rise," staff said, and warned that concurrent city actions could push people onto county property and complicate managed-camp operations.
Commissioners directed staff to draft a letter to the Redmond mayor and council asking for coordination, to provide a draft letter for board review on March 16, and to add 10 minutes to upcoming one-on-one meetings with city leadership to discuss potential alignment. Several commissioners said they would also engage in individual outreach to council members.
