Like most other cities in America, Pendleton is wrestling with how to manage its homeless population. The city does not plan to use its limited resources to provide robust services to the homeless. Nevertheless, they are fellow human beings and they have the same Constitutional rights the rest of us enjoy.

A couple of fairly recent Federal District Court cases have further defined the rights of the homeless and have issued guidance on what cities can and cannot do.

In 2019’s Martin v. Boise, the court held that there is a right to be homeless and to be able to rest. The government cannot criminalize homeless people for sleeping outdoors on public property if there is no other access to shelter. More recently, in the July of 2020 case of Blake v. City of Grants Pass, the court said that the homeless could not be denied the life-sustaining activities of resting, sleeping and seeking shelter from the elements.

The city of Grants Pass had an anti-camping ordinance that also prohibited sleeping in a car for more than two hours. These laws applied to all public spaces in Grants Pass at all times, including parks. There were no public shelters available in Grants Pass.

The recent “Right to Rest” ordinance passed by the city council tries to walk the line between providing legal access to some public properties for the purpose of sleeping (not camping), while denying resting in other public properties. For example, our parks have closed at 10 p.m. for many years. Therefore, permission will not be granted to routinely camp overnight in parks (the city manager has the authority to grant a waiver for special events).

People may not sleep in the right-of-way, including sidewalks, driveways and doorway entrances. Sleeping is permitted, including inside a tent, on other public property from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. the next day, but a temporary campsite may not be established. Sleepers must pack up their belongings, clean up and vacate their sleeping spot by 6 a.m.

Where are these other public properties? Well, the city owns parcels of land near the convention center, surrounding all public buildings, 6 vacant acres in the north Riverside area and near the airport. The Umatilla River banks are public property and there are a few small publicly owned parcels of land scattered throughout the city. The Community Development Department can provide more specific information about city-owned property.

Is this new ordinance perfect? Of course not, but it does a couple of things.

The ordinance complies with federal law by affirming the right of the homeless to rest and provides guidance on when and where that might take place. It is a tool that police can use to enforce the law and it provides a reasonable right of appeal before legal action would take effect. Remember, none of this pertains to your private property and if you have a problem with homeless campers, please call the Pendleton Police Department so you can have them “trespassed.”

There is room for greater thought, creativity and efforts to provide options for homeless citizens to live in every community. It is the responsibility of local government and law enforcement to provide the public with health and safety, and to protect the public from illegal intrusion. However, homelessness is not an issue for the criminal justice system to solve, nor should local governments be required to provide shelter for the homeless.

It will require an effort from the community as a whole to address not only where the homeless rest, but to address the services, from the public and private sectors, which will be provided to the homeless. The city continues to engage in partnerships and discussions about dealing with homelessness, and community partners are vital to this effort.

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