NEWS
Can’t Camp Here WWW.BENDSOURCE.COM / JUNE 10, 2021 / BEND’S INDEPENDENT VOICE
6
Bend City Council adopts a policy for the removal of houseless camps on public right of ways. With shelters at capacity, where will they go? By Jack Harvel
T
he Bend City Council unanimously approved a new policy on campsite removals for camps in City right of ways at its meeting June 2. The Council tailored the conversation to one of the City’s most visible camps, on Emerson Avenue. On Monday social service providers received the notice to engage with camp residents to prepare for the camp’s removal. The policy sets benchmarks for declaring a camp unsafe, and the process for removing them. Fire hazards, accumulation of trash, calls for police service, public urination and impeding on roadways could all be cited as reasons for deeming a camp unsafe, according to the new policy. The City will give at least two week’s notice to residents, and coordinate with service providers before removing a camp, and they must store any confiscated property for at least 30 days for retrieval. The City Council’s input on the policy made it specific to Emerson until the policy can be further analyzed, to coordinate with St. Charles Medical Center and Mosaic Medical to ensure COVID safety, a longer notice given to residents and to explore using American Rescue Plan Act funds for a managed camp. The policy was met with criticism from people who work with the camps. Eleven people called in for public comment during the June 2 meeting to oppose the camp’s removal. Some said the City’s new criteria didn’t apply to the camp on Emerson because the area offers resources for people there.
Jack Harvel
“The camp at Emerson is actually one of the locations where we have trash collection and restrooms at no cost to the City, so you cannot justify the eviction for those reasons,” said Eric Garrity, who volunteers with Street Kitchen Collective distributing food to camps, during public comment. Others argued evicting camps is contrary to advice given by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “The decision to move these individuals from their home without a proper plan is cruel,” Kay Vincent, a member of Bend’s Human Rights and Equity Commission, commented during the work session. “The CDC guidelines clearly state that houseless camps should not be moved. Not only is it a public health concern but an individual concern as their providers will not know where they will go which will disrupt the care that they’re receiving.” The camp is the most diverse camp in the city, Vincent alleged, and that their needs can’t be met by the newly opened Shepherd’s House shelter nearby on Second Street, which will not be housing people between 7am-6pm. “With this heat wave it creates another concern that these human beings will be forced to move in extreme conditions. Being outside right now is already uncomfortable. Imagine having to move every single item that you own on foot across town,” they said. The Council set a goal of attracting 500 additional beds for houseless people, during its most recent goal setting,
Camps line both sides of Emerson Avenue in Bend. On Wednesday, June 2, Bend City Council adopted policies that set criteria for camp removals in public right of ways.
but at the time of the camp’s removal, Bend’s shelters don’t have the capacity to house them, nor do they have designated safe camping sites. “Until we are able to walk on to Emerson and say we’re closing Emerson, but we have these three locations that have been designated safe camping where you can go, what we will be doing, and it’s happening already, is we are pushing people back to China Hat, back to Hunnell, people are going right back into areas right by people’s residential neighborhoods,” said Stacey Witte, founder and director of the houseless nonprofit REACH. Bend City Councilor Anthony Broadman said he’s received a lot of input requesting more aggressive action in camp removal. Creating a
policy was necessary, he said, so that both housed and houseless populations can be aware of the removal process as the houseless population steadily grows in Bend. The rate has gone up by double digits for several years in a row, according to the Point In Time Homeless Count from the Homeless Leadership Coalition. “I don’t think it’s fair to staff, I don’t think it’s fair to campers, I don’t think it’s fair to the housed community to not have a policy about how we’re going to deal with this,” Broadman said during the meeting. “This is a dress rehearsal for problems we’re having in other areas of our community. You saw the 13% number of homelessness increase, that’s the same number as the year before.”
Too Hot To Handle
Oregon’s fire season is starting earlier than it has in recorded history. How are agencies preparing? By Jack Harvel
W
ith the entire state in some form of drought, Oregon’s fire season is starting earlier than it has in recorded history. The season could be as devastating as last year’s wildfires that swept over 1 million acres and destroyed thousands of homes, officials say. The potential for disaster has spurred public officials across the state to start outreach early, promoting fire safety to Oregonians. “Everywhere you go the message is that the days ahead look like scorching temperatures bumping up against a cold reality,” Sen. Ron Wyden said during a briefing with firefighters in Bend June 3. “These are not your grandfathers’ fires. Modern fires are bigger,” he said.
In a briefing from the governor’s office, Oregon Fire Marshall Mariana Ruiz-Temple agreed with that assessment, saying fires in the last 10 to 20 years have lasted longer and been more complex. “I think the biggest thing that we are looking at is really transitioning from the concept of a seasonal fire season and more of a fire year,” Ruiz-Temple said. With the high risk for fires, officials are advocating for safe fire use and promoting what people should do if they spot a fire. “I would say human-caused fires has definitely been the problem so far this year, and in general it’s at least 50% of our fire load here in Central Oregon on a normal year,” said Kevin Stock, fire
and aviation staff officer for the Central Oregon Fire Management Service. COFMS produced videos on safe fire use and has promoted them on its website and social media. The agency is also trying to make the process for reporting a fire clear for Oregonians. “If it’s a fire that’s doing something, a fire that’s obviously a problem, it’s moving, that’s a 911 call,” Stock said. “If you see someone who’s having a campfire and it looks inappropriate, you can look up your local dispatch center or you can call the non-emergency number for your local sheriff and they will get that message to an appropriate agency.” Meanwhile the Oregon Public Utility Commission has established rules for public safety power shutoffs to reduce
the risk of severed power lines starting a fire during intense weather. The shutoff is the last resort, but could occur if winds are strong enough to dislodge branches and trees. “With the earliest official opening to Oregon’s wildfire season in 40 years, the establishment of these rules was extremely important and timely,” said OPUC Commissioner Letha Tawney in a press release. “They are designed to help keep Oregonians safe by establishing criteria on how the utilities communicate and coordinate during a PSPS, and particularly how they issue notifications before, during, and after a potential PSPS in order to provide the PUC, public safety partners and the general public useful and timely information.”
