On the agenda: Salem City Council considers passing update to homeless camping laws

Whitney Woodworth, Salem Statesman Journal
·2 min read
Officer Kevin Ramirez with Salem Police's Homeless Services Team checks on people experiencing homelessness. Having a consistent team allows the officers to build trust with people experiencing homelessness, Ramirez said.
Officer Kevin Ramirez with Salem Police's Homeless Services Team checks on people experiencing homelessness. Having a consistent team allows the officers to build trust with people experiencing homelessness, Ramirez said.

Salem City Council will consider updates to its laws on homeless camping during Monday's regular meeting.

The changes come on the heels of two bills passed the Oregon Legislature passed requiring cities across the state to make “objectively reasonable” regulations about when, where and how people can sit, lie, sleep and camp outside.

House Bills 3115 and 3124 were passed to codify landmark rulings in federal court. The court ruled cities could not enforce anti-camping ordinances if they did not have enough shelter beds available.

In Salem, city officials sought to make changes to the current city code after discovering it was not consistent with the new Oregon laws.

The new ordinance would repeal the regulations related to leaving personal property and sitting and lying on the sidewalks.

The remaining code about camping is set to be revised. Instead of an outright ban of camping in public spaces, the changes specify that camping is not allowed in parks, near vision clearance areas and building entrances, residential zones, near existing shelters and areas designated by the city manager as “no camping.”

Following the second reading of the ordinance, council will vote on passing the changes.

If passed, it will become effective June 22.

Also on the agenda

Other agenda items include:

  • Whether to authorize the city manager to apply for the USDA Forest Service's Urban and Community Forestry Grant for up to $9 million to develop programs that help to build a more resilient and equitable tree canopy in Salem.

  • Whether to authorize the creation of a new wastewater project “Willow Lake Blower Replacement” in the FY 2022-23 Wastewater Non-Assessed Construction Fund and apply for $300,000 in incentive funding from Energy Trust of Oregon to offset project costs.

  • Whether to authorize the city manager to sign an agreement between Salem and the Oregon State Fire Marshal's Office to help with education methods of prevention for wildfire risk, defensible space and community preparedness for wildfires.

How to participate

The meeting is at 6 p.m. It will be held in person at the City Council Chambers at the Salem Civic Center at 555 Liberty St. SE and also can be watched on Comcast Cable CCTV Channel 21 or on the Salem YouTube channel in English/American Sign Language and Spanish.

Those wishing to comment in person can sign up on the rosters at the chamber entrance before the start of the meeting.

Written public comments on agenda items can be emailed by 5 p.m. Monday to cityrecorder@cityofsalem.net. Or preregister between 8 a.m. and 2 p.m. Monday at cityofsalem.net/Pages/Public-Comment-at-Salem-City-Council-Meeting.aspx to speak during the meeting via Zoom.

For questions, comments and news tips, email reporter Whitney Woodworth at wmwoodworth@statesmanjournal.com, call 503-910-6616 or follow on Twitter at @wmwoodworth

This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: Salem City Council considers update to homeless camping laws