Proposed Oregon Camping Ban?

[kumabear17]

Thought you Oregonians might have a reaction to this. It concerns homeless, but appears could effect anyone wanting to camp.

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Butch

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[Will_Power]

You think there would be a way to address this moreso along the chronically homeless angle rather than banning camping outside of designated campgrounds for everyone. Some kind of officer/enforecement discretion or other qualifying factors..

 

[Gaucho Gringo]

Another clueless government bureaucrat spouting off about something he or she knows nothing about. How do they propose to get the $100.00 fine out of people with little or no money? Throw them in jail for 30 days at a cost of $100.00 a day? The older I get the more I fear for the world my grandchildren will have to live in.

 

[boarder4life81]

The major issue is the lack of enforcement of the current law. Currently people aren't supposed to camp in these areas longer then 14 days, then it's considered a "lifestyle", not camping. If Lane County, EPD and SPD would enforce this current ordinance on a more frequent manner the issue of long term residence at these locations wouldn't be an issue. As it is usually the only time these camp sites get broken up is when something major happens and law enforcement is required to show up. Currently Eugene is "working" on making a homeless camp within the city limits and I see this proposal as a stepping stone to forcing homeless into these "camps".

 

[boarder4life81]

Another clueless government bureaucrat spouting off about something he or she knows nothing about. How do they propose to get the $100.00 fine out of people with little or no money? Throw them in jail for 30 days at a cost of $100.00 a day? The older I get the more I fear for the world my grandchildren will have to live in.

Depending on which side of the river they are on when arrested they do get to spend some time in jail. Springfield actually locks up its' misdemeanors, Eugene has a revolving door because they rely on LCSO corrections to handle there criminals and LCSO can't even keep the felons locked up right now.

 

[huthuthike]

It said in the article they were considering a ban in several areas. Any real campers are probably not doing it within reach of a bus stop. These seem to be homeless camps / party places and they should prevent people from staying overnight, they already do it in day use areas and other specific areas.

 

[Darknight]

Enforcing current law would be just as detrimental to the environment. Think about making them move along to a new and never used pristine area to ruin every 14 days. That would just spread the mess around and make more of a mess spread across a larger area.

I have had some experience with the homeless; you will not get the fine out of them or stop them from camping. They will just get citation after citation until they get locked up for 6 months and then it's a warm place to sleep with free food.

Best idea would be to do what Portlandia has done and make a homeless camp that has designated resources and facilities. It's not perfect but it works for now.