What Bend’s anti-camping code means for people experiencing homelessness

It was 10 degrees outside and Michael had no idea where he would be living in the next few weeks.

On a recent day, he was one of nearly 100 people living on Hunnell Road, one of the largest homeless encampments in Bend, which the city is poised to sweep on March 16. It’s the latest camp removal in a series of city-led crackdowns in the past year and will be the first under a new city code taking effect Wednesday.

Michael, who did not want to give his last name, has been living in a tent on Hunnell for the past seven months. He spends most of his time trying to keep warm as temperatures in Central Oregon have remained well below freezing. He didn’t know how he’ll comply with Bend’s new restrictions on where, when and for how long people can camp on city property.

“You’re not giving anybody any options,” Michael said. “Now, you’re going to throw us out like yesterday’s trash — that’s not humane at all.”

He and others on Hunnell Road are largely in the dark about the details of the code changes, while local advocates backed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Oregon are threatening to sue the city.

Here are four essential questions about what the controversial new rules mean and why they’re happening now.

What are the key points in the new rules and how are they different from Bend’s past anti-camping enforcement?

Before now, the city had no code banning camping within city limits. Removing a camp could only be done if city officials deemed it a public safety hazard, a strategy used multiple times in previous sweeps.

Now, removing camps or tents can take place if someone violates the new code. The city will still issue 72-hour notices prior to a removal, unless it’s deemed an emergency. Officials can also issue a citation before deciding to remove a campsite.

The new code covers many different areas, but here are some of the key aspects impacting unhoused people:

• Those camping must move at least 600 feet every 24 hours.
• There can only be three campsites per city block.
• People can’t build any type of permanent structure.
• If someone is living in a vehicle, it must be operational.
• Some personal possessions aren’t allowed. For example, car tires, spare bicycles and other items not deemed essential for survival are forbidden.

The city has said it only plans to cite people as a last resort and will offer opportunities for people to comply with the code.

What kinds of shelter does Bend have to offer?

The city has been putting millions of dollars into funding and constructing new shelter spaces in town. That includes converted motels and very small, individual shelters.

By March 16, the people living on Hunnell Road will need somewhere else to go. This week, the city and county agreed to open up a managed campsite away from Hunnell. It could have up to thirty sites, but it will take at least two more months to build.

Deschutes County Commissioner Phil Chang told commissioners and city officials this week that they should delay clearing Hunnell until that site opens.

“All this planning that we’re doing … will be wasted if we scatter the people that are currently living at Hunnell to the four winds before these locations are available,” Chang said.

Bend City Manager Eric King said the city could consider a more gradual removal of the Hunnell Road camps.

Around 1,300 people are believed to be experiencing homelessness in Central Oregon. City officials have said that even with so many new shelter options coming online this year, available spaces still remain far below what’s needed.

Who has been pushing back on Bend’s new anti-camping policy?

The Bend City Council’s passage of the new code in December was far from congenial.

The council, which had been typically uniform on most topics, was split. Councilor Barb Campbell even called the requirement for people to move their campsites every 24 hours “cruel.”

Advocates for people experiencing homelessness also spoke against the code. They cited previous sweeps of camps in the city, when residents were scattered and people set up new camps in different unsanctioned areas.

Many residents on Hunnell Road and other camps have said they were removed in multiple sweeps before.

In the end, the council passed the new code by a single vote.

Now that it’s rolling out, the policy could be challenged in court.

On Tuesday night, hours before the code took effect, Bend officials got a letter from the ACLU of Oregon, working with a local advocacy group and a private law firm. The letter urges the city to repeal aspects of the anti-camping code, arguing it violates state law by being “all but an outright ban effectuated by a complex system of mapping, moving requirements, and a maze of intersecting restrictions.”

“In addition to inviting statutory liability, the Anti-Camping Code also invites constitutional liability as cruel and unusual punishment and an excessive fine, both proscribed by the Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution,” reads the letter sent to city officials by the Bend Equity Project, the ACLU of Oregon and the Law Office of Thaddeus Betz.

Other Oregon cities and towns are taking on the issue of unsanctioned camping. Why is this issue so front and center for policymakers?

More and more Oregonians are experiencing homelessness, in seemingly all corners of the state. The population of the Hunnell Road camp has swelled since the COVID-19 pandemic began.

In a 2018 federal court order called Martin v. Boise, judges ruled that a government can’t cite people for living outside when they have nowhere else to go.

In 2021, Oregon legislators passed a law requiring local governments to pass a camping code by this July. The law says that cities and counties can only pass camping codes if they’re “objectively reasonable.” What that means is open to interpretation and is being debated across the state.

For example, Redmond city officials held a public forum on the issue Tuesday evening. The Portland City Council recently passed a citywide ban on outdoor camping and plans to open six managed camps for people to live in by 2024.

State leaders are also attempting to act on Oregon’s homelessness crisis. Gov. Tina Kotek declared a homelessness state of emergency in January and is seeking $130 million from the Legislature to address it. Kotek is also seeking an additional $27 million specifically for Oregon’s rural counties.

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to include a Feb. 28 letter sent to city officials by the Bend Equity Project, ACLU of Oregon and others.