Portland City Council passes revised public camping ordinance, effective immediately
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) -- The Portland City Council unanimously approved Mayor Ted Wheeler's revised public camping ordinance on Wednesday, which will go into effect immediately.
The bill, first introduced last month, includes new public camping regulations that Mayor Wheeler said would clarify the definition of camping as well as the reasons for prohibiting camping when a person does not have or declines “reasonable alternative shelter.”
Wheeler’s proposal also clarified how camping cannot take place on public property and reduces criminal sanctions while replacing warnings with diversion tactics.
Wheeler said the council's passage of the ordinance shows that Portland is "leading with urgency and accountability to create a safer and more compassionate community.”
“Addressing the issue of unsheltered homelessness in our city is a complex and urgent matter, and I believe this ordinance represents a significant step forward in our ongoing efforts to manage public spaces effectively,” Wheeler said on Wednesday.
The previous policy asserted that campers were forbidden in public parks or near schools and could not camp on city streets or other public places during the daytime.
The ordinance to ban daytime camping was initially slated to go into effect in July 2023 but stalled after the Oregon Law Center sued the city in September on behalf of thousands of homeless residents – prompting a Multnomah County judge to issue an injunction in November that paused any enforcement until the end of the lawsuit.
After much debate and public testimony, Wheeler's amendments were formally adopted by Portland City Council in the newly proposed camping ban, setting aside another set of amendments brought by Commissioner Rene Gonzalez that failed to pass with enough votes.
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