The City of Hillsboro will soon pass some sweeping new Codes that will affect how we handle the sensitive and challenging topic of homelessness. Federal and State laws make it illegal for any City to deny people the right to sleep out in the open, protecting people who, in essence, have no home. The complex laws and Oregon House Bill 3115 ensure that people can sleep on public land when no shelter beds are available.
House Bill 3115 requires cities to allow community members to sleep and rest on public property — with restrictions — when no shelter beds are accessible.
According to the new law, cities and counties in Oregon — including the City of Hillsboro — must review and update local ordinances, or rules, that regulate sitting, lying, sleeping, or keeping warm and dry outdoors on public property by July 1, 2023.
This means the City of Hillsboro needs to make changes to current municipal code, which bans all camping in public spaces.
Learn more about federal and state camping laws and how they impact Hillsboro.
The CITY NEEDS TO HEAR FROM YOU! If you have a home and have been affected by homelessness-related issues your input is sought. If you are homeless or have been, your input is equally if not more crucial!
HERE IS YOUR CHANCE TO WEIGH IN – TAKE THE SURVEY BEFORE APRIL 7th
From the City – we received this email:
As part of the cites engagement effort to seek input for our upcoming Camping Ordinance Amendment, the city has created survey’s in both English and Spanish for community members to fill out so we can hear how they have been impacted by this topic. Those impacted includes the housed and unhoused community.
Thank you.
Karla
Karla Antonini, AICP | Economic Development Project Manager
City of Hillsboro, Oregon
call 503-681-6181|email karla.antonini@hillsboro-oregon.gov
web www.Hillsboro-Oregon.gov/EconomicDevelopment
Twitter @cityofhillsboro
This is one of those times where your Voice can and will make a difference, so take a few minutes and take the survey!
Homelessness is not a one size fits all, and singular temporary solutions are not going to work or go far at all. It takes multilevel solution at Local, State, Federal and even Private Level. It take a village and more everyday all the time. The misconception is Homelessness is a immense problem, when the problem is that we as a people have forgot how to critically think and be able to agree and adopt simple concrete solutions for all concerned. This is not an oversimplification as basics can be applied across the board. Until a majority of people on every level are ready and come to realize that this is everyone’s problem and we all must act together in concert we (humans) will continue to struggle and be limited. meaning we will fail to evolve as we would like to think we are. We fail to realize that we are only as good as our weakest link. The survey only reflects hat we still do not have a clue and cannot see the bigger picture. Until you can see and understand the problem you will never be able to fix it. It is not a Band-Aid approach. It is painful to watch us try all these singular solutions year after year and never understand why we cannot solve the problem. Maybe someday we will actually get it and then work to resolve it, and will all look back and say wow, that was really not so hard and why we did not do this many years ago. We need to change our thinking and approach and stay on the straight and narrow focused path. We can then get to work on good, really good solutions we can all be proud of.
With a Billion dollar budget, they have shelved the idea of caring multiple times about homelessness . why didn’t they ask the public what we thought about the 200 million dollars they are spending on homeless city equipment parking lots and other random ideas that our people do not care about.
I think you have an excellent point, Shannon! Thank you for speaking up- please continue to do so!
Homelessness and gang problems were both brought to Hillsboro when the MAX train first came to Hillsboro from Portland. Instead of homeless people sleeping in our parks that taxpayers pay for and want to enjoy, and sleeping on sidewalks so people cannot walk by and/or access businesses, and where they make a total mess out of the public areas, they should be housed in vacant and ababandoned buildings and office spaces. The homeless would get more shelter from the elements, and noise, and the public would be able to enjoy public areas. Homeless camps ruin the value of nearby housing because nobody wants to live by a homeless camp. Many of the homeless are dangerously mentally ill from being homeless and on drugs. What happened to vagrancy laws? Forcing homelessness on the public is unconstitutional..