Residents urge Vernonia council to act on vagrancy, unsanctioned camping

Residents pressed the Vernonia City Council on July 6 for faster action on vagrancy, unsanctioned camping and trail safety, telling elected officials that public camping and drug-related behavior are making local parks and downtown businesses feel unsafe.

"There's a growing concern that there is a vagrancy issue, in and around Vernonia," said Robert Erman, a local business owner who said his family and customers have encountered encampments and intimidating behavior on the town's trails. Diane Goodmanson, who identified herself as a Vernonia resident, urged the council not to reduce the conversation to "homelessness" and said the city needs a strict time, place and manner ordinance and a sanctioned camping area. "To paint this all as a housing issue is both inaccurate and a gross misrepresentation of what's going on here," she said, and she referenced House Bill 3115 as a constraint unless a sanctioned site exists.

Councilors acknowledged the public complaints and described ongoing work to tighten nuisance and illegal-burning codes and to revise Title 3 to give the police more citation authority. "We hear you," the mayor said, and councilors noted that the city is constrained by state law but is pursuing local code enforcement options and coordination with the judge. City staff and the police later reiterated that documentation matters for enforcement: the city administrator and police asked residents to take photos or video when safe, because, as staff put it, "hearsay just won't stand up for us."

No ordinance vote occurred at the meeting. Councilors said staff will continue drafting code changes and report back; residents who testified asked the city to prioritize a time–place–and–manner ordinance and to consider locating any sanctioned camping site away from trails and residential areas.