Local Politics

Dear Mayor and City Council, I feel we are being betrayed by the very same people we helped elect and put our faith in. There has been no real outreach effort with the community on this shelter proposal. Many questions and concerns have gone unanswered. We have a vagrant drug addiction problem more than anything else. That is what is destroying our community, fix that issue and you have solved the worst part of our…

Background In a previous article, Understanding State and Federal Law in Regard to Homelessness, I discussed a Supreme Court ruling that effectively gave states the authority to regulate homelessness. Oregon had already enacted laws addressing this issue, including HB 3115, which allows cities to regulate homelessness in a time, place and manner that is “objectively reasonable.” However, this law has created significant challenges for local governments, as cities and counties struggle to implement regulations that comply…