Grants Pass OKs ordinance to regulate homeless service groups in public spaces

Mayor Sara Bristol must sign the ordinance before it can go into effect

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Grants Pass could soon regulate organizations that serve unsheltered residents in the city’s public spaces.

In a 5-3 vote held on March 6, Grants Pass City Council approved the ordinance that requires nonprofits, organizations and private citizens to register with the city and police department before conducting “humanitarian service events” in parks and other public property.

This includes non-social events in which service providers hand out food, refer residents to navigational services or distribute clothing — which includes items such as sleeping bags and bedding.

The ordinance will prohibit organizations from replacing used needles and syringes with new items. It will also ban groups from handing out combustible materials.

The ordinance was a collaboration between City Attorney August Ogu, homeless services organization Mobile Integrative Navigation Team, and the HIV Alliance. According to the city attorney, who presented the ordinance in late February, the rule is less about regulation and more about oversight.

“We’re wanting to make it conform to the First Amendment because individuals have a right to give out food and clothing as part of their First-Amendment-protected activity,” Ogu said. “However, that doesn’t foreclose reasonable time, place and manner regulations.”

Under the new rule, organizations and private citizens who register with the city must pay an administrative fee of $25. The groups will also be required to collect data on their services, such as the number of individuals served or the number of items distributed during each event.

Those who violate the ordinance will receive a citation, and “part exclusion” for 30 days.

Even though Grants Pass City Council has voted in favor of the measure, Mayor Sara Bristol must sign it before it can go into effect.

The vote could be impacted by the upcoming Supreme Court case that will determine whether local governments can enforce camping bans in public spaces.