Members of the unhoused community at Seneca Camp in West Eugene have been fighting in community court over tickets for trespassing. Since the court appearance of those involved, Seneca Camp has made efforts to clean the area while city and Union Pacific officials have made comment on the legality of the encampments.
Since the Feb. 7 court packing by members of Seneca Camp and the subsequent trials, the community has decided to clean up trash and ask the city for waste removal resources. 
The debate surrounding whether or not Seneca Camp lies on private land or owned by Union Pacific is at the forefront of the issue. 
According to Jetty, an advocate for the houseless community who uses an alias for personal protection, the community at Seneca Camp believes they are on privately owned land and that they have permission from the owners to live in the area.
Officials from the Eugene Police Department suggest instead that they are on railroad property. EPD said they are able to determine the land ownership with GPS mapping tools. 
“We use mapping tools to determine ownership when responding to camping or property related claims. Depending on the property there are different rules,” said Melinda McLaughlin, public information director at EPD. 
“There have apparently been campers trespassing for an extended period on railroad property between Seneca Road and Bertelsen Road,” McLaughlin said. “We don’t do proactive enforcement unless Union Pacific asks for this. If we do go, we provide a good period of notice, help people with their property, provide them with referrals and resources and generally go in and assist.”
In total, around 28 individuals from Seneca Camp have been ticketed and one individual was arrested for trespassing.
“The majority of them believe they are on privately owned land that they have permission from Baxter to be on,” Jetty said. 
JH Baxter and McCracken warehouse are two businesses neighboring the encampment near Seneca Rd. in West Eugene. Many of the members of the community at Seneca Camp have made claims that they have been granted permission to occupy the area by these businesses. 
As the debate over the legality of Seneca Camp living by the railroad tracks continues, Jetty has been helping clean up the area with community members.
“I proceeded to go around to every warehouse that’s surrounding the tracks and said we are going to do a mass cleanup,” Jetty said. 
Jetty has been working to obtain resources for the community of Seneca Camp such as getting dumpsters and trash transportation to landfills. 
“I called around and asked the three sanitation places if they would be willing to bring us [Seneca Camp] a dumpster out and donate dumps so we can get this place cleaned out and everyone told me no,” Jetty said. 
The lack of dumpsters and the need to clean the area led Jetty to ask Kelly McIver of the Eugene community development division and unhoused response for trash removal.
McIver denied her request, claiming the city will not issue any money toward the use of dumpsters because the land is private property owned by the railroad company, Union Pacific.
“Having places for people to dispose responsibly of trash is a challenge, partly because dumpsters are often broken into and rummaged through, and bags left will also be ripped open and the contents strewn about by other people,” McIver said. “Neighboring properties are also mostly private, and most property owners are not enthusiastic about the idea of hosting trash receptacles for general use because they become an attractive nuisance that adds risk for their properties.”
According to McIver, because of the limitations and city code there are limitations on the use of public land which in turn leads people to increasingly occupy private property. This is why the city of Eugene, Lane County and non-profit organizations work to create more funding for shelters and affordable housing.
“It’s a huge challenge though,” McIver said, “And until we are able to see a great deal more shelter and affordable, supported housing, we will see people moving periodically throughout the community.”
Union Pacific has temporarily suspended their scheduled removal and cleanup activities while Seneca Camp continues to undergo treatment for a scabies and lice outbreak.
According to EPD, medical outreach workers from HIV-Alliance and Black Thistle are in the process of treating the population with a multi-course pharmaceutical.
“Homelessness is a challenging issue and a growing social problem that state and local governments are struggling to get their arms around,” Meg Ronspies, corporate communications manager at Union Pacific, said. “Despite efforts to keep our tracks clear and safe, unlawful encampments are sometimes set up on our property, putting lives at risk and resulting in some people treating our property as a dump site.”