At a Wednesday night meeting, after considering multiple locations, city councilors re-opened a nearly half-acre site near City Hall, on 6th Street, for homeless camping. That site had previously been used for that purpose.

The city will continue to allow camping at an almost quarter-acre site near the police station, on 7th Street.

Councilors also extended the hours campers are allowed to be at each site to 96 hours. After that, they will face a three-day notice before their belongings can be removed.

Previously, homeless people were only allowed to camp at the 7th Street location between the hours of 5 p.m. and 7 a.m.

Wednesday night’s changes are an effort to respond to a recent lawsuit. An Oregon disability rights group and five homeless plaintiffs sued the city, claiming its treatment of homeless people violates state law.

Oregon’s House Bill 3115 says cities’ public camping regulations have to be “objectively reasonable.” But, that term isn’t clearly defined.

“Objectively reasonable, when it comes to the compliance of House Bill 3115, has not been defined by the state of Oregon,” City Manager Aaron Cubic said Wednesday. “And here today, we’re discussing this because we’re the tip of the spear of starting to define what objectively reasonable is.”

At the meeting, many residents expressed frustration about the city’s ongoing homeless crisis.

Mayor Clint Scherf tried to reassure them.

“Believe me you, this Council and everybody up here is working to get a long-term solution. This right now might be a little band-aid solution, but we’re trying to navigate the waters as they are put in front of us today,” he said.

Last June, Grants Pass won a different case over its treatment of homeless people after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in its favor. The argument in that case focused on the Constitutional ban on cruel and unusual punishment.

Grants Pass recently had a years-long injunction lifted from that court case, which prevented the city from enforcing its public camping ordinances. The city is now trying to prevent the current court case from leading to another injunction.

On Tuesday, Josephine County judge Brandon S. Thueson extended a temporary restraining order in the current lawsuit so homeless people in Grants Pass can’t be cited, arrested, fined or detained for camping through February 27.

However, camping is prohibited in Riverside Park and Reinhardt Volunteer Park. In addition, the city can still enforce its code that says sleeping on sidewalks, streets, alleys or in doorways is prohibited.

Jane Vaughan is a reporter with Jefferson Public Radio. This story comes to you from the Northwest News Network, a collaboration between public media organizations in Oregon and Washington.

It is part of OPB’s broader effort to ensure that everyone in our region has access to quality journalism that informs, entertains and enriches their lives. To learn more, visit our journalism partnerships page.

News Source : https://www.opb.org/article/2025/02/21/grants-pass-oregon-homelessness-housing-camping-tents-city-council/