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B. WORK SESSION: <br />Homeless Camping <br />Ms. Ortiz had been contacted by a community member who was concerned about how the <br />Oregon Revised Statute (ORS) regarding people sleeping in their cars was written. She said this <br />was an ongoing situation that needed to be revisited annually. She said it was the council's <br />responsibility to tweak the system to help a few people who did not have a place to live have a <br />better quality of life. <br />Richie Weinman, Community Development Division (CDD), and Lt. Pete Desphande, EPD, <br />provided an overview of homelessness in Eugene. <br />Mr. Weinman reported 3,971 homeless people were counted in Lane County and 2,541 people <br />were unsheltered during the one night homeless count on January 27, 2010. Eugene had been <br />confronted with illegal camping issues for decades, and had worked to find a balance between <br />the needs of the community's most vulnerable residents and the health and safety concerns of <br />property owners and tenants. The current program included a contract with St. Vincent de Paul <br />(SVDP) to manage the City's legal spaces for which the City paid $89,000 for a staff person to <br />manage the spaces, the cost of portable restrooms and garbage pick --up at legal camping <br />locations. <br />Mr. Desphande said the issue with EPD was one of balancing compassion and enforcement. He <br />reviewed the current protocols for enforcement action, which was complaint- driven. When EPD <br />received a complaint, staff contacted SVDP staff, who effectively dealt with the situations that <br />arose. If SVDP staff could not resolve issues, EPD was contacted. EPD then made contact with <br />the people and generally resolved the issue. Citations were rarely issued. While the system was <br />not perfect, the program was successful. He had been contacted by agencies in other states who <br />were interested in the partnership between the City and SVDP. <br />Mr. Clark appreciated Mr. Weinman's characterization that enforcement in the past had been <br />adversarial and unsatisfactory. Mr. Clark recently had a complaint from a constituent regarding a <br />situation that lasted a considerable length of time before the campers could be helped. He <br />appreciated the newer model and the compassionate look, and hoped the City would be as <br />responsive as possible. He was interested in finding answers by being creative and perhaps being <br />more accommodating with restrictions on private property for people who wanted to be a part of <br />the solution. <br />Mr. Weinman explained that in the past, the police were more aggressive with enforcement of the <br />camping laws which resulted in police spending time on this issue at the expense of other <br />enforcement needs, greater anger and stress on the streets among homeless people, and no greater <br />success at reducing homelessness. When the ordinance was adopted in 1 995, it contained <br />provisions for on-- street camping and camping in other locations, with the intent of allowing <br />neighbors to help each other. The existing ordinance permitted a business, public agency or <br />church to have up to three campers on their property if sanitation was provided. one camper per <br />property owner was permitted. If the council wanted to allow more than one camper per property <br />owner, an ordinance change was required. <br />MINUTES Eugene City Council February 24, 2010 Page 3 <br />Work .Session <br />