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Intern outlines encampment-response options; council told to craft ordinance consistent with HB 437 if enacted
Summary
Intern Ethan Walls briefed council on encampment policies, legal constraints including Grants Pass v. Johnson and pending HB 437, and recommended a public-camping ordinance using the state definition, zoning text amendments, and investments to improve shelter accessibility and wraparound services.
Ethan Walls, a city intern, presented research on policy options for addressing encampments and asked council for direction on whether to pursue an ordinance focused on camping on public property and zoning text amendments to clarify camps and campgrounds.
Walls reviewed the legal landscape, citing the U.S. Supreme Court's Grants Pass v. Johnson precedent and explaining how a pending state measure, House Bill 437, would create a state definition of public camping and restrict local authority on camping on certain properties; staff recommended using the state definition if HB 437 becomes law to ensure compliance. He also recommended enforcement language that gives police discretion to apply civil or criminal penalties and suggested zoning text amendments to distinguish recreational camps from encampments and to impose sanitation standards for campgrounds.
Walls and councilors discussed shelter access, PIT-count limitations and the June 2025–June 2026 police data showing increased encounters with people experiencing homelessness. Council acknowledged the need for shelter-accessibility improvements and for a coordinated encampment-response policy involving county and nonprofit partners rather than a purely punitive approach.
