By GARRET JAROS/YachatsNews
YACHATS – A bunch advising Yachats on homeless points is recommending town add 4 websites the place tenting can be banned — websites initially recognized as the one city-owned property the place tenting is likely to be allowed.
These embody properties subsequent to water reservoirs in neighborhoods east of Freeway 101 and a beforehand favored designated tenting space close to the Yachats wastewater remedy plant.
Town posted a “no camping” signal on the Little Log Church Museum per week in the past and had a Lincoln County Sheriff’s deputy inform the person who has camped there for months that he wanted to depart inside 72 hours.
The group’s newest suggestion – together with the no tenting signal – got here after a robust citizen response to the checklist of 4 properties the place homeless tenting had not been banned.
“We did hear the worry and the concern and the fear and there’s some really valid points that were brought up about the fire risks and things like that regarding having any set locations on city property up on the hill and near water tanks and city infrastructure,” stated metropolis supervisor Bobbi Worth, who chairs the work group.
The advisory group can be recommending town spend money on social providers in collaboration with a non-profit group that Yachats Group Presbyterian Church is within the means of forming. The church already operates a busy meals pantry and a chilly climate emergency shelter.
The group additional beneficial town council take into account supporting a tax levy to assist fund these social providers.
One other suggestion was to have Worth seek advice from town’s lawyer about how small communities who lack “resources, tax base, or land” can function inside the state legislation that stipulates tenting on public property is authorized when no shelter is on the market – with the caveat cities can decide which properties to make obtainable – if they’ve a tenting ordinance.
The legislation, which went into impact final July, doesn’t require cities to have a tenting ordinance. However with out one they’ve restricted authorized recourse on eradicating campers from any public property.
“Can communities like ours be considered one with Lincoln County, where they and each city have contributed to investment in warming shelters, beds, and transitional housing?” requested the work group, which was detailed within the metropolis supervisor’s report back to town council this week.
The work group’s suggestions would depart town with none places the place tenting can be allowed.
Worth stated she has met with town lawyer to debate choices.
“It was an eye-opening conversation really, for how we can do this,” she stated. “And he gave, really mostly examples on what other communities are doing and what’s happening state-wide.”
One choice is to comply with go well with with Waldport and others which make public the place tenting is prohibited however not the place it’s allowed.
“And there are pros and cons to that,” Worth stated. “You can end up chasing somebody around from here-to-here-to-here saying ‘oh, you can’t camp here, oh you can’t camp here.’”
An alternative choice proposed by the lawyer was to designate an unsupervised website, which has the advantage of folks in the neighborhood figuring out the place the homeless can camp, or having a supervised camp.
There are different cities which have supervised websites. However Worth stated CIS Oregon, the statewide insurer of municipalities, doesn’t encourage metropolis employees to handle these camps, however as an alternative contract with church buildings and different non-profits.
It’s untimely to say how this can all shake out for town, Worth stated, as a result of the tenting ordinance and the right way to administer it’s in its nascent stage.
“We are not in a place where we are saying ‘This is this’ or ‘This is not this’,” she stated. “We are still working out the kinks of this ordinance. We really are. And there are some creative ideas that are coming up but it’s too premature to bring those to council and say this is our suggestion.”
Lastly, the work group additionally prompt pursuing a sheriff’s contract deputy for Yachats whereas additionally searching for a long-term funding answer.
“No camping” at church
The signal was posted on the Little Log Church Museum on Could 9, and a sheriff’s deputy suggested the person who has been tenting there all through the winter that he wanted to gather his belongings and go away inside 72 hours.
The 48-year-old man, who goes by Brooks, stays camped on the museum per week later.
Brooks has been coming to Yachats roughly seven years and says he retains himself and the world clear, helps with the landscaping and tells different would-be campers they don’t seem to be allowed to be there. He considers himself a caretaker of the property and says the neighbors have expressed appreciation.
He additionally volunteers with totally different organizations in Yachats and Waldport, serving to the place he can, he added. After which he shared his opinion on why different houseless vacationers have been coming to Yachats trying to camp.
“A lot of people are getting run out of Portland and (dispersing) to places like Newport and Florence,” he stated. “And then some traveling kids put on Facebook ‘come to Yachats, there’s no cops. And there’s a whole bunch of rich people.’”
When requested what he considered the tenting ordinance that bans tenting on the museum, he stated merely “the whole town is really proud of me, and if I wasn’t here (these grounds) would be occupied by a bunch of other people.”
Brooks stated he’ll obey the order to vacate, maybe go to household in Washington the place his growing old father resides. However he additionally made a plea to the neighborhood.
“If you know anybody who has an extra shed, I’ll work their property, like how I’ve been staying here and working the grounds.”
“I want to let the community know that I am thankful back,” Brooks stated. “Because when I first moved here, years ago, I was one of those drunk travelers and I’m clean now. I even have nice new shoes someone gave me. Please just don’t pull the rug out from under me.”
- Garret Jaros is YachatsNews’ full-time reporter and will be reached at [email protected]
“Well bless their hearts.”
