5 hours Ago By Ben Botkin
A Josephine County judge on Monday issued a 14-day temporary restraining order that blocks the city of Grants Pass from enforcing its homeless camping ordinance and prevents fines. The city’s ordinance, without a court order, would otherwise limit hundreds of homeless people to pitching tents in one designated site in Grants Pass that only has room for about 30 tents. And people who camp elsewhere face fines of $75.
The temporary order is the first court action in a lawsuit that two advocacy groups and five homeless people filed last week against the city of Grants Pass in Josephine County District Court. The lawsuit alleges that the city’s current homeless camping policies are illegal and harmful, especially for people with disabilities who are forced to pack up their tents at 7 a.m.
every morning. “This emergency pause provides an opportunity for Grants Pass to redirect its policies in a more reasonable and constructive manner, instead of threatening the lives of people with disabilities by prohibiting them from protecting themselves from the February cold,” said Tom Stenson, deputy legal director of Disability Rights Oregon, which joined forces with the Oregon Law Center to file the lawsuit and represent five homeless people. City officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the order.
The southern Oregon city made national headlines in 2024, when Grants Pass went to the U.S. Supreme Court to defend its restrictions on homeless people.
Seven months ago, the court ruled the city can impose criminal penalties on illegal homeless camping without violating constitutional provisions against cruel and unusual punishment. Since then, the city has still faced challenges. In August, officials designated two sites for camping, with fines for those who camp elsewhere.
More recently, the city’s homeless face new struggles. In January, city officials opted to close the larger of two designated camping sites in the city. The closed site had room for about 120 tents, while the remaining site has room for about 30.
The newest lawsuit alleges the city is failing to abide by state law that requires homeless camping ordinances to be reasonable. In general, cities in Oregon are allowed to have ordinances that forbid camping in certain areas, like blocking sidewalks or entrances to buildings. The order does not allow people to block streets, but does give homeless people the ability to camp in parks.
The city also cannot remove campsites, unless it’s been obviously abandoned for multiple days, the order says. There are different scenarios for what could happen next. The city could change its ordinances for homeless camping in a way that satisfies the plaintiffs.
If nothing happens within 14 days, the next steps would be a hearing for the judge to determine whether to grant a preliminary injunction to halt enforcement of the city’s ordinance while the case proceeds in court. Stenson said the goal is not to allow homeless people to camp wherever they wish. “Our end game is not to make it legal to camp everywhere all the time, no matter what, or to impair people’s ability to use the parks,” Stenson said.
“Our end game is to try and make sure that people are not dying in the process.” GET THE MORNING HEADLINES. SUBSCRIBE.
