Oregon House Bill 3115
House Bill 3115 requires cities & counties in Oregon to allow community members to sleep and rest on public property — with restrictions — when no shelter beds are accessible.
Under House Bill 3115, local laws must be objectively reasonable as to the time, place, and manner that community members experiencing homelessness may be allowed to sit, lie, sleep, or keep warm and dry outdoors on public property.
- Watch City of Hillsboro Attorney Chad Jacobs explain the legal background about sheltering on public property in Oregon and view the Camping Legislation PowerPoint.
Cities Can Regulate:
Time: Cities can prohibit camping during certain hours
Place: Cities can limit camping to certain areas
Manner: Cities can restrict amount of personal property and how camping occurs (this could determine what types of tents, structures, or storage of belongings may be allowed on public property)
Existing rules: Cities can continue to enforce existing laws and ordinances regarding littering, fires, vandalism, and other crimes
The Updates Do Not:
Reduce the number of persons living outside.
Homelessness will still be visible in our community until we reduce unsheltered homelessness through proven solutions.
Provide a solution to homelessness.
Only proven solutions, such as expanding prevention, outreach, and available shelter and housing options can reduce homelessness.
Manage the impacts of camping activities.
Ordinances simply regulate camping by providing some basic parameters that are objectively reasonable given our current local context. Other ordinances are needed to manage impacts.
The Updates May:
Provide people in need with reasonable times, places, and ways to rest and sleep on public property.
Help service providers more easily engage with people living unhoused.
The Updates Do:
Restrict camping in certain public spaces, such as City parks, persevered natural areas, and close to schools and businesses.
Restrict camping on public property during certain hours of the day.
