The Bend City Council delayed a vote on controversial shelter code amendments at its regular meeting on May 4. If adopted the amendments would have loosened restrictions on where shelters can be placed, in accordance with 2021’s House Bill 2006 that eased zoning requirements for homeless shelters.
The City has struggled to find places to site a managed camp over the past year, with attempts to site facilities on both Ninth Street and Juniper Ridge failing after intense public feedback. The code changes are no less controversial, and public comment lasted over an hour and a half at the City’s first in-person council meeting that welcomed visitors since the pandemic began.
The code changes proposed set guidelines for group shelters (multiple beds in one room), multi-room shelters (shelters with rooms for individuals or small groups), outdoor shelters (tiny home villages and supervised tent villages), temporary shelters (group, multi-room or outdoor shelters approved for 180 days or less) and hardship housing (RVs parking in residential areas).
The City Council suggested staff scrap hardship housing, provide 24-hour on-site management of shelters — either by shelter staff or potentially resident designees — and to include neighborhood associations as part of the notification process. Outdoor shelters in residential areas are limited to public institutions like churches under the proposed code.
The City has struggled to find places to zone a managed camp over the past year, with attempts to form facilities on both Ninth Street and Juniper Ridge failing in February after intense public feedback. The code changes are no less controversial, and public comment lasted over an hour and a half at the City’s first in-person council meeting since the pandemic began.
Western cities don’t have the ability to evict homeless people camping in the street unless there’s adequate shelter capacity, a decision affirmed by the Ninth Circuit Court through the court case Martin v. Boise. The City Council will have a work session on a possible camping ordinance on June 15.
The day after the meeting, the Homeless Leadership Coalition released its Point in Time Count , showing a 17% increase in homelessness over the last year, bringing the total number to 1,286 people who reported experiencing homelessness in Central Oregon on the day of the count, on Jan. 24, 2022. The survey showed the number of homeless children doubled, from 111 to 223. More households, adults and unaccompanied children experienced homelessness in 2021, while fewer veterans and unaccompanied 18-24-year-olds didn’t have a place to stay.
This article appears in Source Weekly May 12, 2022.
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Low barrier shelters are simply not sustainable in our community and they are not wanted by a majority of Bend residents but the Bend City Council wants to portray that the community members who are opposed to low barrier are villains who just dont care and that is quite the opposite.
We care about our community and the livability for all. We care about the houseless folks and this is why many in our community would totally get behind high barrier shelters. We have a perfect working model here in Bend which is the Bethlehem Inn. Why not replicate or expand on this model. There are rules and regulations and commitment to sobriety which offers a way for the houseless to get back on their feet. It gives them the services they need, yet holds them accountable and requires them to have skin in the game.
Our City Council is supposed to represent our community members and work with their neighborhood associations. I am the chair of the SWNA and I can honestly say that working with them is a futile effort ; it is like banging your head on a wall. And I voted for them. On this issue they simply are not listening to reason. They have an agenda that is going to ruin Bend.
With all the growth that is happening here we need to invest in proper infrastructure. This means investing in mental health, social and medical services. It means holding developers accountable for sustainable building practices and changing code to make that happen. Developers should not be running this town. It means to get behind affordable housing initiatives, stop issuing STR permits and start thinking about our natural resources. Why are we turning off irrigation to farmers but continue to let developers build thousands of homes. Where is this water going to come from? Build and people will come. And they need to do all of this while working together with Deschutes County commissioners to solve all of these issues. These CC positions are non partisan so it means leaving your agenda and party hat at the door and standing up for the pledge of allegiance ( there are three CC persons who dont stand for the pledge) as they are supposed to create a sense of unity and community not divide.
Really hate to respond to Ms. Perullo critically, as I often agree with her comments–including many offered here.
I would just like to mention a recent Bend Bulletin article:
https://www.bendbulletin.com/opinion/edito…
From this article:
“Deschutes County doesnt have enough residential treatment beds for people with acute mental illness. The county has a capacity of 41 beds along a spectrum of care. . . .There are 15 beds in adult foster homes, 10 in residential treatment homes and 16 in secure treatment facilities.”
Added to this is the recent Point In Time Count of unhoused individuals in our area–a 17% increase over the previous count. And, additionally, our Congressional District ranks higher than average in poverty.
Agree with Ms. Perullo that “high barrier” facilities provide exceptional care and services. (She, unaccountably, fails to mention that the Bend City Council has already partnered with Central Oregon Veterans Outreach and Bend Heroes Foundation to create the amazingly successful Veterans Village.) I have lived next door to to a residential treatment home for 12 years, and my family has had nothing but congenial relationships with the residents–even hiring one as an intern in our downtown business.
However, funding is in ridiculously short supply for state of the art facilities, services, and personnel that can help the victims of what is looking like a raging national mental illness epidemic. Only 0.2 of CARES Act funds went to mental health.
Until the mental illness crisis can be addressed adequately at the national level, local municipalities must do what they can with what they have to stabilize and save lives. Shiny new “high barrier” facilities that can serve EVERYONE in need are not likely to be built anytime soon. The next best step are managed sites built to welcome anyone in truly desperate need. To improve safety, we need to change City Code to require 24-hour staffing at these sites.
Bend is a welcoming community. For example, hundreds of locals stepped up to save lives during last year’s lethal Heat Dome event. I tend to doubt Ms. Perullo’s assertion that a “majority” of Bend residents disagree with the City Council’s initiatives to help the most vulnerable of our neighbors.