Grants Pass on the Clock: 14 Days to Revise Homeless Encampment Policies

GRANTS PASS, Ore. — The City of Grants Pass has 14 days to respond to a court order restraining city officials from enforcing its homeless camping ordinance.

See also: Temporary Restraining Order Sought to Stop City of Grants Pass Homeless Encampment Closure

The City is Prohibited from Limiting Homeless Camp Sites

On Monday, a Josephine County judge issued a 14-day temporary restraining order prohibiting Grants Pass City from limiting homeless campsites and enforcing $75 against violators of the ordinance.

The lawsuit was brought by Disability Rights Oregon and the Oregon Law Center on behalf of five disabled homeless clients. The lawsuit claims that the City of Grant Pass ordinance on homeless camping is harmful and illegal.

Grant Pass recently closed the largest of its two homeless campsites, forcing occupants to try and find a place to pitch their tents in a camp with only 30 available spaces.

The council also imposed a camping restriction on the smaller site from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, forcing occupants to wander the streets with all their possessions.

There is No Drinking Water Available at the Small Encampment

Grant Pass has provided portable toilets and a dishwashing area for the site tenants, but no drinking water has been supplied to the encampment.

Tom Stenson, deputy legal director of Disability Rights Oregon, said the temporary restraining order will give Grants Pass time to reconsider its policies ‘in a more reasonable and constructive manner.’

Stenson said current policies threaten the lives of disabled people because they are denied the right to protect themselves from the cold weather.

The homeless crisis in Grants Pass, as in many cities across the country, bubbled to the surface when the Supreme Court last June overturned a California-based appeals court ruling.

The Supreme Court ruled that the Grants Pass City ordinance did not amount to cruel and unusual punishment under the U.S. Constitution’s Eighth Amendment when there is a shortage of shelter space.

The ruling opened the door for Grants Pass to enforce local ordinances that banned camping on city property, such as sidewalks and parks.

Monday’s restraining order upholds the previous ruling that prohibits homeless people from blocking sidewalks but opens the door for them to camp in public parks.

The judge also ruled that Grants Pass City cannot close campsites unless the encampments have been left abandoned for several days.

The city has 14 days to respond.