PORTLAND, Ore. — The city of Portland's daytime ban on homeless camps began Friday. But for the time being, nothing has materially changed on the city's streets.
Claude Little has been on the streets for roughly 10 years, the last 9 months of that in one area of downtown Portland. He's aware of the new camping ban and expected enforcement of it to begin Friday morning.
"Yeah, I thought the cops were gonna come over here earlier, but they didn't," Little said. "Something else must have happened. I don't know what happened."
Under the new ordinance, camping on city property is prohibited between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. People living in vehicles or RVs will also need to be lawfully parked and follow the city's general parking rules between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m.
Camping is also banned at all times in specific areas, including in parks and on sidewalks, within 250 feet of schools and childcare centers, and along city-designated high crash corridors.
Questions have been raised as to how the city will enforce the ban, as the Portland Police Bureau continues to deal with staffing shortages. Mayor Ted Wheeler's office said there will be a "phased-in" approach that focuses on outreach and connecting people to services before enforcing the ban. Wheeler's office also said they will make a formal announcement when enforcement will begin.
“While these reasonable restrictions are a significant policy shift, the ordinance will be implemented thoughtfully, and enforcement will not begin immediately,” said Wheeler. “Over the next few months, we will be focused on education and outreach — ensuring all outreach teams, City employees, PPB staff, and others have clear and thorough information on this new ordinance.”
On Friday, Portland City Commissioner Dan Ryan said commissioners need to discuss what "education and outreach" will entail.
“It’s complicated, but our community safety team and first responders need clarification and direction,” Ryan said.
When asked if the ordinance could lead to legal challenges, Ryan said that he thinks there are legal risks and challenges happening across the city right now due to services not being provided and public right of ways not being safe.
The ordinance updates the city's existing restrictions on public camping and puts Portland in compliance with House Bill 3115. That law, passed in 2021, mandated that Oregon cities update their camping ordinances by July of this year, adopting "objectively reasonable" time, place and manner restrictions instead of maintaining blanket bans.
Wheeler proposed the ordinance and city council passed it in a 3-1 vote last month. Wheeler has said that his goal is to have enough shelter and housing space available to eliminate unsanctioned camping.
People living on the streets can be warned to move their tents and belongings twice, but on the third violation, they could be fined up to $100 or face up to 30 days in jail, or both. However, City Commissioner Rene Gonzalez said in June that almost no one will be going to jail — something echoed by Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt.
According to an FAQ published by Mayor Wheeler's office, someone who is offered access to shelter or housing and refuses will then be "prohibited from camping anywhere in the City because they have an alternative place to go."
The availability of shelter or housing space in Portland shifts on a daily basis, and it's not always clear when or where there are openings. Portland's Street Services Coordination says it maintains openings for people displaced by camp sweeps so it can offer referrals.
Presumably these referrals are for overnight congregate shelter spaces. When surveyed, homeless Portlanders have overwhelmingly said that they prefer sleeping outdoors in tents over indoor congregate shelters, citing concerns about privacy, security, crowding and restrictive rules or timetables.
According to the latest report from coordination center for the week from June 16 to July 2, workers talked to 42 people who were interested in a shelter referral. Of those, 25 accepted the referral and 15 used a shelter bed for at least one night.
Wheeler's office said in a release that people seeking shelter can dial 211 to get connected in real time. But when KGW's Pat Dooris called the number, he was just offered the phone numbers of nearby shelters. 211 did not know if any of those shelters had open beds.
A federally mandated "point-in-time" count conducted in late January found that there are more than 6,200 people experiencing homelessness in Multnomah County.