Last Hunnell Road occupants leave voluntarily following city of Bend’s final deadline for clearing, cleanup

(Update: Clarifying Hooker Creek statement)

New camp arises beside Highway 97; most say they will go to China Hat or Juniper Ridge

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) – Thursday morning, after the city of Bend's midnight deadline was upheld by a federal court judge, Hunnell Road was almost completely cleared of the last people who'd camped in the area, some for years. A few residents were still on adjacent Clausen Road, actively fixing their cars to leave.

Biohazard crews were on site, along with Bend Police. One structure was still up on Hunnell Road, but crews were in the process of taking it down.

"Overnight and this morning, a lot of people left voluntarily, which was exactly how we had hoped that would work." city Communications Director Anne Aurand said.

Nearly two-dozen people with disabilities had been given an extra week to relocate. Due to smoky conditions, the city delayed Monday's midnight deadline another 48 hours.

By early Thursday afternoon, the remaining 15 RVs and campsites had been cleared.

"I anticipate that by the end of today, all the remaining items will be out of here, and we should be able to start cleaning this road." Aurand said. "We're going to scrub, we're going to do landscaping work and some repainting, that could all start tomorrow."

Meanwhile, a new encampment on the side of Highway 97 next to Hooker Creek Construction has popped up, with some previous Hunnell Road residents now there.

Some residents living there claimed employees of Hooker Creek had threatened to shoot them. Hooker Creek officials told NewsChannel 21 they do not condone violence of any kind and do not know whether the threats were made by an employee.

Most previous residents from Hunnell Road told us they will be moving to the China Hat or Juniper Ridge areas, to the south and north of town.

A federal judge in Eugene on Wednesday rejected a plea by three disabled homeless people living on Hunnell Road for a court order to delay the city of Bend’s final clearing of those living on the street, ruling the city had acted properly and the court had no standing to overturn a state court decision.

The ruling dismissing the request for a temporary restraining order was the second court defeat for residents being forced to leave the street, after a Deschutes County judge also dismissed their claims and allowed the clearing and closure to begin early last week.

The midnight July 17 deadline for the Hunnell and Clausen Road residents was extended a week by the city for 22 disabled residents who requested accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act. The city granted a 48-hour extension to those residents on Monday due to wildfire smoke, pushing back their deadline to leave until midnight Wednesday.

U.S. District Judge Ann Aiken noted in her decision that the plaintiffs were seeking the same relief denied by Circuit Judge Wells Ashby. Citing “the Rooker-Feldman doctrine,” Aiken said “federal courts lack jurisdiction to hear cases that amount to collateral attacks on state court judgments.”

“Accordingly, the relief requested in the federal action would, in effect, reverse the state court decision or voice its ruling,” Aiken wrote.

But even if that doctrine did not bar the suit, Aiken said she’d reviewed the materials submitted by the homeless plaintiffs and the city “and concludes that plaintiffs could not meet their burden to demonstrate a likelihood of success on the merits of their claims.”

She also rejected the claim of “irreparable harm” if forced to move, noting that Bend’s camping code “does not ban camping in the city” and contains no criminal penalties, rejecting the plaintiffs’ claim they would be arrested and jailed if they don’t leave.

“It is in the public interest to regulate public streets in a way that could allow all to use the roads,” Aiken said in dismissing the complaint and denying the request for a temporary restraining order.

Aiken also noted that those who make a “pro se” filing in federal court, meaning representing themselves without an attorney, can only represent themselves and not pursue claims on behalf of others, such as the rest of the last residents along the streets. She also sided with the city that Eric Garrity and the Bend Equity Project, also listed as plaintiffs, don’t have standing in the matter.

We have reached out to the plaintiffs for their reaction to the decision.

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City of Bend statement:

City of Bend Statement on July 26 United States District Court Order

United States District Judge Ann Aiken ruled today that the plaintiffs in an action filed against City of Bend officials on July 21 were not entitled to a temporary restraining order or any other relief. Judge Aiken dismissed the case.

This means the City may proceed as planned with the temporary closure and clean-up of Hunnell and Clausen roads, and that all people in the closed area must leave no later than midnight tonight. The City will resume its clean-up operations as planned on Thursday morning, July 27.

In addition to dismissing the case, Judge Aiken concluded that one of the plaintiffs and their organization could not speak for or represent themselves or other individuals experiencing homelessness in the case.

Judge Aiken also discussed the City’s Camping Code in her order, recognizing that it allows people to use many of the City’s public rights-of-way to camp for limited time periods, does not contain any criminal penalties and applies to everyone equally, regardless of whether they do or do not have access to shelter.

“The City remains committed to meeting its obligations to manage its public spaces while also addressing issues around homelessness and individuals experiencing homelessness with compassion and pragmatism,” said Assistant City Attorney Ian Leitheiser.