Deschutes County, city seek to provide managed homeless encampments on rural lands

(Update: Adding comments from Phil Chang, Jim Porter)

Efforts to change Oregon legislature to allow shelter sites on exclusive farm use land

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- "We have a desperate need for outdoor shelter opportunities that can help people take the journey from homeless to housed and being reintegrated in our community," Deschutes County Commissioner Phil Chang said Monday.

As efforts to alleviate the homeless crisis continue in Deschutes County, the county and city of Bend are looking to the state for help in solutions to support those struggling with homelessness, and residents who say their businesses and neighborhoods are being negatively impacted.

Chang said one proposal on the table is to provide safe parking operations and managed homeless encampments on rural land.

But in order for that to happen, the state would have to approve a change in land-use rules for the urban growth boundary. 

Chang said he's advocating for managed homeless encampments on rural lands because limited indoor shelter and transitional housing are needed.

"Any time we talk about you know, 20 sites, 30 sites, there’s a whole lot of community concern and often a lot of neighborhood resistance," Chang said.

Under current state statute, shelter sites are not allowed on land designated exclusively for farm use.

"The county Board of Commissioners have asked the governor, has asked the state Legislature, and has asked the state Department of Land Conservation and Development for a little bit of flexibility to be able to authorize an outdoor shelter.”

Commissioners sent a letter to the state leaders asking for flexibility within one mile of the urban growth boundary of an established city.

As for the vision of how the managed homeless encampment would operate, Chang said it would be nothing like the appearance of the encampments on Hunnel Road, which are not managed. A managed site would be securely monitored and offer needed resources for the homeless.

"This is a site that is fenced and gated, that has 24-hour management, so there are site managers and service providers and caseworkers there throughout the entire day," Chang said. "The gate is closed at night, and people have to be screened to be allowed to stay at the managed camp.”

Central Oregon Villages, a Bend nonprofit working to shelter the homeless, is onboard with the concept of having outdoor shelter sites for the homeless on rural land.

“There’s clearly a need for all level of camps, from the low barrier to the high barrier, with a limited amount of land to actually expand onto," Board Chair and former Bend police chief Jim Porter said. "Within the urban growth boundary, almost all the property is either dedicated or is being considered for housing, facilities.”

Central Oregon Villages would provide caseworkers and navigators to homeless camps on rural land, if they are approved for development. 

Currently, the nonprofit is working on their own development, a high-barrier camp directly behind Desert Streams Church in southeast Bend, to house the homeless. This would be in addition to their satellite camp on Bond Street downtown.

"It’s going to be a model camp of high-barrier, and we hope in the next two weeks to have these pallets folded out into buildings," Porter said.

The shelter will accommodate women over 50, or women at risk. Each shelter will accommodate two to four family members. Porter says they plan to have it open by the end of May. But he adds that the problem of homeless needs more community support, when it comes to creating sanctioned camps.

"I understand citizens' complaints, when they drive by unsanctioned camps, but at the same time, they don't want sanctioned camps anywhere," Porter said. "You can't solve unsanctioned camps without governed and sanctioned camps.

"Right now, we're wasting a lot of taxpayer money without developing solid camps of all level barriers to move unhoused people to," he added. "We can start spending less money on police and fire, and allow volunteers and nonprofits to manage the services the unhoused need."

By taking camps beyond the urban boundaries and onto farmland, the county commission believes it could help answer community concerns about managed camps within city limits.

But of course, they would have to clear hurdles at the state level, and find the land for that to happen.