Portland City Council votes to ban homeless camping
[It] lays the groundwork for creating thousands of new affordable housing units, getting more unsheltered people into addiction or mental health treatment and – most controversially – banning unsanctioned camping.
[Excerpt from The Oregonian/OregonLive.com, November 04, 2022.]
The Portland City Council voted to ban homeless camping by 2024 and approved four other proposals Thursday aimed at addressing a deepening humanitarian crisis that spans every corner of the city.
The ambitious plan, brought forth by Mayor Ted Wheeler and Commissioner Dan Ryan, lays the groundwork for creating thousands of new affordable housing units, getting more unsheltered people into addiction or mental health treatment and – most controversially – banning unsanctioned camping.
The…resolutions approved…will:
Ban unsanctioned camping citywide and establish six large-scale official camping sites with sanitary and other services for between 150 and 250 people.
Push the city to more aggressively help create 20,000 new affordable housing units in the next 10 years by reducing bureaucratic red tape, identifying additional public-private partnerships and lobbying for more state and federal funding.
Offer more work opportunities for the city’s most vulnerable residents.
Seek assistance from Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt to create a new diversion program that would eliminate citations and low-level offenses from homeless people’s records if they agree to undergo mental health or addiction treatment.
The ones that passed require that the city aspire to ensure that all camps are accessible to people with disabilities and that camps are placed at sites across the city, not just in poor neighborhoods.
“The five resolutions approved Thursday will:
Ban unsanctioned camping citywide and establish six large-scale official camping sites with sanitary and other services for between 150 and 250 people.
Push the city to more aggressively help create 20,000 new affordable housing units in the next 10 years by reducing bureaucratic red tape, identifying additional public-private partnerships and lobbying for more state and federal funding.
Offer more work opportunities for the city’s most vulnerable residents.
Seek assistance from Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt to create a new diversion program that would eliminate citations and low-level offenses from homeless people’s records if they agree to undergo mental health or addiction treatment.
Formalize a request to the state, county and other government partners to help reach those goals.