Eugene City Council moves forward with planning homeless camp idea

Reported by: Chris McKee
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Updated: 10/18/2012 3:58 pm
EUGENE, Ore. (KMTR) -- One year after the Occupy Eugene protest, Eugene City Council is moving on a possible city sanctioned transitional homeless camp.

Councilors met Wednesday afternoon, October 17, making several decisions about how to move forward with the possible camp.

"They have asked us to identify city-owned properties of an acre or more that are not parks land that meet certain criteria that could be used for transitional housing to house families in the future,” says Jon Ruiz, Eugene’s City Manager.

Tentatively, the project is being called Opportunity Village Eugene. While there are still a lot of steps to take before anything hits the ground, councilors took some serious action Wednesday.

Councilors directed the City Manager's Office Wednesday to narrow down a list of more than 300 potential sites for the camp. They'll put together a list of city-owned properties that aren't parks and that are larger than one acre.

Staff will also figure out how many residents live close to the potential sites; also any conditions with the land like environmental issues that would preclude the site.

The camp idea came from the Opportunity Eugene task force that emerged out of closure of Occupy Eugene site.

"One of the things that the council consistently wants to do is include the public not only in just this decision but a lot of different decisions and this is one of those that I know they'll be looking for public input as we continue to work through this,” says Jon Ruiz.

The City Manager’s office should have narrowed down list of possible camp sites by at Halloween meeting on October 31=. The city still hasn’t come up with framework for the camp such as how many people it would house or who would be eligible to live in the camp.

Councilors also voted today to draft the framework to extend the tent camping ordinance in car camping spots throughout the city.
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dtomdick - 10/20/2012 3:06 PM
0 Votes
Klingmana you ought to post your address and invite people to stay. Sounds like you might have a couple of spare bedrooms for the homeless. We need people like you, don't be shy.

klingmana - 10/20/2012 12:18 PM
0 Votes
The people that don't want to help their local community improve conditions for those less fortunate should go somewhere else and build a wall around their little fascist enclave. The people of Eugene are more compassionate than that. We are willing to do what we can to try to improve the conditions, even though it is difficult. I was inspired and moved by the Occupy Eugene protests last year. And I am impressed that there are solutions being presented this year to deal with some of the core problems. I see this as progress. Thank you Occupy Eugene for courageously going out of your way to do something to help the community.

scottyperey - 10/18/2012 12:23 AM
0 Votes
When Occupy Eugene was at the Park Blocks, suddenly downtown business owners noticed a conspicuous absence of the homeless youth that had been hanging out in front of their shops. They had a place to go, and a community that was willing to engage them, and listen to them. When Occupy Eugene was at Washington-Jefferson Park, local residents in the Whitteaker Neighborhood noticed not an increase but a DECREASE in homeless people messing around their property. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to put two and two together...

FREEJD - 10/17/2012 11:39 PM
1 Vote
If we're to tolerate class apartheid in the downtown with no benches and people being profiled based on the cost of their clothing to appease an elitist minority who still cling to some last remnants of their usually inherited, dwindling, middle class American Dream, ticketing individuals for the so called "crime" of being poor...If we are going to continue to elect officials still willing to help perpetuate this absurdly bogus war on drugs sponsored by private prison profiteers, the alcohol and big pharma lobbies, and our intelligence apparatus black op money laundering, that in the words of President Jimmy Carter, "Has destroyed millions of young people's lives" by constantly wringing our hands about pot smoking...If we are going to obediently continue parroting Bill O'Reilly and Rush Limbaugh propaganda demonizing the poor when the very robber barons who employ these blowhards (Bain Capital Owns Fear Channel)sent all our living wage jobs overseas, refuse to raise minimum wage, refuse to pay taxes, and foreclose on 10,000 families a day...then the VERY LEAST we should do is allow the community to help the community. Even the restaurant owner who's overwrought about that dastardly downtown reefer devil weed madness corrupting our hackey sackers has admitted that downtown was "Happy Days" when the Occupy movement, supported by various faith based organizations, private citizens, non-profits, and yes, LOCAL BUSINESS OWNERS all united to create safe space for the downtrodden. As it stands today, homeless people are pushed around, slandered, roughed-up, demonized and criminalized whether they had an open container (Snapple anyone?) like all you spray n play soccer mom softball players who drink openly all summer long, or you wristband buying suburbanites, or whether they had a half a joint in their pocket, or not. The only reason hate fed dittoheads spew their venom is that illusion it could never happen to them. Google:Jill Stein arrested; NDAA. www.freeleah.org

sabramarcroft - 10/17/2012 11:18 PM
1 Vote
It's amazing how hard it can be to work together to solve community problems, but it's so worth it, and it gets better with practice.

scottyperey - 10/17/2012 11:05 PM
0 Votes
I think mean-spirited commenters who hide behind pseudonymous usernames are the living embodiment of cowardice.

rgl1345 - 10/17/2012 9:00 PM
2 Votes
I think the camps should be put on each of the city council members streets where THEY live and double where worthless Kitty lives
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