In a field surrounded by chain link fence next to Highway 199 in Grants Pass, about 70 tents have been set up.
It’s one of two city-owned sites where homeless people are now allowed to camp. There are six white shade canopies, four porta-potties, a handwashing station and two blue dumpsters. Cameras monitor the approximately 1.25 acres in an industrial area of town. Another half acre site is located across the street from City Hall.
Providing these sites is the city’s way of following Oregon state law in the wake of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling. In June, the Supreme Court sided with the city in a long legal battle, upholding its ban on public camping. But Grants Pass still has to comply with state law. That says rules regulating where homeless people can camp must be “objectively reasonable”, although that term isn’t specifically defined.
But not everyone is happy with this campsite solution. Some have even called them “concentration camps,” and there are concerns about fire hazards and mud…