Item B: Homeless Car Camping - and atts A-C

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Management of public and private overnight parking sites The Homeless Camping Coordinator at SVDP manages the waiting list and placement of eligible persons for identified sites, arranges for sanitary and trash pick-up and actively monitors conditions at the managed sites. The coordinator also serves as a liaison to service providers such as SVDP’s Eugene Service Stations and First Place Day Center to further assist car camping clients. Further, as time and funding permit, the program is marketed to property owners who may wish to host a car camper. The number of available sites tends to fluctuate throughout the years. Some sites are seasonal while others are gained or lost to development or property owner choice. At present, the program manages 26 permitted sites, with these sites accommodating between one and three vehicles each. These sites currently serve 53 people; the waiting list stands at 83 requests. Attachment B displays the locations of sites throughout the City. Enforcement of on-street camping regulations On-street camping regulations are enforced in response to complaints. Calls from residents concerned about illegal on-street camping are fielded by many departments throughout the city. For non- emergency situations, residents are encouraged to call the non-emergency number of the Eugene Police Department. Since 2006, the following protocol has been in place to deal with camping-related complaints:  Calls are screened for criminal or safety issues.  If there are no criminal or safety issues, calls are entered into the “Camping Log.” The caller is provided with the incident number for reference.  A log of illegal camping complaints is forwarded to the SVDP Homeless Camping Coordinator as complaints are received. Once the coordinator has made contact with the campers, a 24-hour notice to move is initiated. At this time, the coordinator also performs outreach to the campers to inform them of available resources related to their needs.  Campers who do not leave following the 24-hour notice or have moved but continue to illegally camp in other places around the city are reported to the Eugene Police Department (EPD) as willful violators. A willful violator vehicle may be towed and the camper may be ticketed by EPD. Police response to car-camping complaints is prioritized below violent or in-progress criminal activity. The department has identified officers who will specialize in these calls so that response can be standardized and willful violators more quickly identified. The department has determined that there is too much risk involved in this type of complaint to assign civilian employees such as Community Service Officers or volunteers to respond to calls regarding willful violators. The number of complaints remained relatively consistent between 2005 and 2010. There has been a significant increase in the number of calls in the first quarter of 2011, January through March, in comparison to the first quarter of 2010, as shown in Attachment C. Internal coordination Community Development convenes a monthly meeting to improve coordination between City departments and St. Vincent de Paul for issues related to legal and illegal car camping. The meetings include St. Vincent de Paul staff and City staff from the following departments: \\cesrv500\CC Support\CMO\2011 Council Agendas\M110613\S110613B - and atts A-C.doc