The Stayton City Council is considering revisions to a recently passed camping ban and might vote on amendments as soon as its Oct. 16 meeting.
An ordinance passed July 17 banned overnight camping in parks and city-owned facilities, leaving a handful of undeveloped city-owned properties without camping restrictions.
Some of these were near residential zones downtown, and many residents and business owners expressed concern over the potential for homeless persons staying in these areas.
Officials are considering revisions that would address these and other concerns and have reached out for further public input, including a survey conducted by City Hall from Sept. 15 – 28. The results of the survey are planned to be shared during an Oct. 9 meeting of the city’s Homeless Task Force, which would then submit a recommendation to the council.
During the task force’s Sept. 11 meeting, City Manager Julia Hajduk said the goal is not to designate specific areas where camping is encouraged, rather areas that are exempt from the ban.
“It doesn’t mean we’re inviting (people) and making homeless camps, it means we’re not going to shoo people away if they happen to be camping there and don’t have any other place to go,” she said.
Hajduk said the council is considering exemptions for a city-owned right-of-way along Wilco Road as well as the city’s water and sewer plants. She said these are essentially the only city-owned properties not near homes or downtown, or in a public park.
The ban, which took effect Aug. 17, does not allow camping at city facilities or in rights-of-way and this language would need to be amended to exempt the properties in question.
City Councilor David Giglio, speaking Sept. 11 as a member of the task force, said none of these locations were ideal. He said, of the three, he was most comfortable with the Wilco Road right-of-way, and with using the water plant if a fallback was necessary.
“I think it’s a really difficult, difficult issue,” said Giglio.
Also at issue is whether the city will provide social services to the local homeless population or partner with a service agency. Such a decision may impact which locations are exempted from the ban as the sites would need to be accessible by service providers. Representatives of Recovery Outreach Community Center (ROCC), a Salem-based social services provider, were invited to speak with the task force.
Melissa Wright, a peer support specialist for ROCC, said she was homeless herself four years ago and spent time living on the street and camping. She said she was able to leave that way of life because she received access to support and resources.
“(Homeless people) need services, they need peer support, they need behavioral health, they need addiction services,” she said. “…that’s the only way that I got out of homelessness.”
ROCC Lead Recovery Manager Melinda Sherrod said the agency is ready to engage with the homeless population in Stayton, including a potential partnership with the Stayton Police Department. She also strongly encouraged the city to place bathroom and washing facilities at whichever property is exempted from the ban.
Hajduk asked how ROCC reaches out to homeless people who don’t want support. Wright said it is essential to instill trust and show genuine empathy.
