The camping ban stalled due to a lawsuit in 2023
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – Portland’s homeless daytime camping ban is going back to the drawing board less than a year after it passed the City Council, thanks to a proposal by Mayor Ted Wheeler on Thursday.
The mayor proposed new public camping regulations that he said will clarify the definition of camping as well as the reasons for prohibiting camping when a person does not have or declines “reasonable alternative shelter.”
Wheeler’s proposal also clarifies how camping cannot take place on public property and reduces criminal sanctions while replacing warnings with diversion tactics.
The ordinance to ban daytime camping was initially slated to go into effect in July 2023 but stalled after the Oregon Law Center sued the city in September on behalf of thousands of homeless residents – prompting a Multnomah County judge to issue an injunction in November that paused any enforcement until the end of the lawsuit.
As for the new proposal, City Attorney Robert Taylor said he expects it will hold up.
“The City Attorney’s Office believes these new proposed regulations would survive a legal challenge while providing the City the tools to change the status quo in Portland,” Taylor said.
Homeless advocates have said they are not surprised the ordinance has undergone legal setbacks while Multnomah County has roughly 2,000 shelter beds and an estimated 8,000 homeless residents.
Stay with KOIN 6 News as this story develops.
Aimee Plante
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