PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — The City of Portland appears to be moving forward with plans for sanctioned campsites around the area as the city works on solutions for the homelessness crisis.
As the city looks for housing and shelter sites, Mayor Ted Wheeler’s office confirmed to KOIN 6 News on Monday they’ve made two letters of intent for potential sites, but did not go into further detail.
On Monday, Mayor Ted Wheeler’s office confirmed to KOIN 6, it made two letters of intent to purchase when it comes to potential shelter or sanctioned campsite locations for the homeless, but didn’t go into further detail.
According to the mayor’s calendar for Jan. 20, it appears one of those letters of intent is potentially for the Clinton Triangle, a parcel of land along SE Powell and Milwaukie extending to SE 16th.
The plot of land sits near the Brooklyn and Hosford-Abernethy neighborhoods and is currently home to a fire station and contractor Stacy and Witbeck.
However, some who live near the Clinton Triangle say it’s also prime real estate in a growing neighborhood.
“We know that particular parcel has been looked at for development so our concern is if they put something there, they’re going to end up moving folks anyway,” said John Karabaic, co-chair of the neighborhood association Brooklyn Action Corps.
Karabaic says since the city approved moving forward with six sanctioned camps around Portland, some residents were for bringing a site to Brooklyn.
“We had folks express during our general meetings that there was interested in actually hosting a sanctioned campsite,” Karabaic said.
But the neighborhood says it also has concerns the program may not run as well as planned, leaving residents and the unhoused in an entirely different situation, hoping instead for more permanent solutions.
“We think that housing first is a strategy to pursue in a housing crisis, not sanctioned campsites that try to get the unhoused out of sight,” Karabaic said.
Brooklyn neighborhood leaders say they also haven’t received any communication from the city yet. The mayor’s office tells KOIN 6 they’re currently putting together outreach times.
During a Monday night town hall, KOIN 6 News asked City Commissioner Mingus Mapps how city leadership plans to move forward with neighbors.
“I think it’s important that the city takes responsibility for cleaning up the space around there. I think we need to think about security and I think we need to have ongoing dialogues and check-ins with neighbors to make sure these settlements are actually working,” Mapps said.
He added he’s meeting with Mayor Wheeler and Commissioner Dan Ryan later this week and will work to learn more about the proposed sites and plans.
In a statement, Mayor Wheeler’s office said:
“We’re looking at past outreach examples to inform how we introduce the Mayor’s Temporary Alternative Shelter Sites. Our approach is to meet with the neighborhoods where the sites will be located before formally issuing an announcement to the public. We want to get the community’s input and provide an opportunity to answer questions, meet the service provider assigned to that site, develop a good neighbor agreement, etc. We are putting together outreach teams now and outreach will begin shortly.”
Neighbors say they’re concerned the plan would be regressive and end up costing more than creating permanent housing.
“We believe we need to keep trying different ways to support our unhoused neighbors, respecting them as our neighbors, while we build the housing,” Karabaic said.
So far, the city has committed up to $27 million for the first three sanctioned campsites to be built and operated for at least one year.
Neighbors say they’re concerned the plan would be regressive and end up costing more than creating permanent housing.
“We believe we need to keep trying different ways to support our unhoused neighbors, respecting them as our neighbors, while we build the housing,” said Karabaic.
The mayor’s office has not confirmed to KOIN 6 a mass encampment is headed to the Clinton Triangle in Southeast Portland. So far, our reporters have put in a public records request for the Clinton Triangle Letter of Intent and asked the mayor’s office about the second letter of intent –which was not detailed in the calendar.
Christopher Eykamp, chair of the Hosford-Abernethy Neighborhood District, said the mayor’s office has not yet reached out to the surrounding community.
“At this point, HAND remains optimistic that the proposal can be successful, but there are many issues yet to be discussed, much less resolved, Eykamp said. “We look forward to working with the mayor’s office to ensure this proposal is successful for everyone.”
Stay with KOIN 6 as this story develops.