Eugene City Council agreed to defer a vote on reforming the city’s policy towards homeless sweeps following work sessions on the subject Feb. 27 and March 8.
City Attorney Kathryn Brotherton brought the proposed reform to council in response to House Bill 3115, a state bill passed in 2021 that codified two court cases which found laws in Boise and Grants Pass that criminalized sleeping on public property violated the Eighth Amendment’s protection against cruel and unusual punishment.
The bill gives local governments until July 1 to ensure regulation of “sitting, lying, sleeping or keeping warm and dry outdoors on public property that is open to the public must be objectively reasonable as to time, place and manner with regards to persons experiencing homelessness.”
Current code bans all camping on city property, something Brotherton said would have to change to ensure Eugene complies with the state law.
She recommended the city narrow its focus to more specific restrictions that would ban campsites in front of building entrances, exits and stairs; within 5 feet of roads and waterways; and that don’t allow for at least 4 feet of width on sidewalks and 10 feet on shared-use paths.
These limits would preserve current restrictions on fire and park hours. They also only apply to camping. Sleeping without camping, for example with a sleeping bag rather than tent, is protected on all publicly-owned land open to the public, so long as the sleeper allows for four feet of sidewalk space, Brotherton said.
Councilors had mixed reactions to the recommendations and some suggested stricter policies than what Brotherton suggested. In particular, several said that 5 feet is not enough distance from waterways to keep them clean.
Councilors unanimously agreed to schedule another work session in early April, followed by a public hearing in May to get more input before making a decision.
They raised concerns about what affects the code changes would have. The most common councilor concerns centered around frequency of camping, overcrowding in areas where camping is allowed and enforcement.
“People don’t always think through a list of prohibitions,” Councilor Emily Semple said. “They just want to know what they can do. So if going through the list of prohibitions becomes onerous, people are going to ignore them. So I’m just wondering what is going to happen to the places where [camping is] allowed.”
Police Chief Chris Skinner joined Brotherton in recommending that councilors change the law, saying current code “can feel very arbitrary and capricious for people on what is or isn’t enforceable.”
“The number of people today that have erected some structure and call their domicile on our public lands, will be the same number of people we will have tomorrow after we have these conversations,” Skinner said in response to a question from Councilor Mike Clark on whether the amended code would increase or decrease the number of people camping.
Additional information councilors asked for at the next work session included information on how the change would affect homeless people, financial cost to police and public works and advice on drawing a line between temporary and long-term camping.
“Does this improve the experience or lives of the people that we’re talking about, the unhoused?” Councilor Lyndsie Leech asked. “Does it prevent these sweeps of their campsites and the removal of their property? I’d like to see more information about the intent and the expected outcomes of these things.”
Councilor Randy Groves said he would like to see how Eugene distinguishes between someone who is establishing an overnight place to sleep or rest and someone establishing an ongoing homestead.
“We see both in this community, and I think the latter is more problematic than the prior,” he said.
The date for the next work session has yet to be determined, but it won’t take place until at least April 9, when City Council returns from break.
