Homelessness: Changes to Camping Rules

In June 2024, the Supreme Court ruled that criminal punishment for camping in public places is not deemed "cruel and usual" under the Eighth Amendment — even when people experiencing homelessness have nowhere else to go.

This Supreme Court ruling overrides a 2022 United States Court of Appeals decision in Johnson v. City of Grants Pass, which directed that laws must allow "necessary minimal measures" for people experiencing homelessness to "keep themselves warm and dry" and "rudimentary forms of protection" from the elements.

The City of Hillsboro DOES NOT plan to create more restrictive camping rules or change our approach to enforcement, which focuses on providing education and services but can include penalties — such as exclusion, citation, or arrest — in circumstances where the individuals repeat the violation after being informed of the rules. Read our recent news article to learn more.

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.

In the April 2019 Martin v. City of Boise decision, the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court ruled that community members experiencing homelessness cannot be punished for sleeping outside on public property in the absence of adequate alternatives, or unless the law imposes “reasonable time, place and manner” restrictions.

This agreed with the suit's central premise that:

As long as there is no option of sleeping indoors, the government cannot criminalize sleeping outdoors, on public property, on the false premise they had a choice in the matter.

House Bill 3124 requires cities in Oregon to:

• Provide a 72-hour notice of the intent to remove an established campsite
• Notices of the intention to remove the established camp site must be posted at each entrance to the site
• Preserve items from campsites, that are reasonably identified as belonging to an individual and have apparent value or utility — not including drugs, weapons, or stolen property — for at least 30 days so that the owner can reclaim them