Homelessness: Changes to Camping Rules
Homelessness impacts individuals, families, and communities across the country.
In Hillsboro and Washington County, there are not enough shelter beds for everyone who needs them on any given night.
As the City continues to pursue solutions with community partners and create a Year-Round Shelter, we also updated our camping rules to:
- Recognize the need for community members to sleep and rest on public property
- Preserve Hillsboro's livability for all
- Comply with state and federal laws
Overview of Camping Rules
After reviewing community workgroup recommendations and survey results, the Hillsboro City Council adopted new camping rules in effect July 1, 2023.
People with no available shelter may camp overnight from 7 pm to 7 am on certain public property, including:
- The public right-of-way, generally between the sidewalk and curb
- Limited outdoor City-owned property
Camping is also allowed at registered private property and sanctioned campsites. Local service providers and the Hillsboro Police Department’s Community Impact Team work face-to-face with people living unsheltered to explain the new rules and connect them with services.
- Visit the Camping Rules webpage for the full guidelines.
- View the interactive Public Camping Map.
Note: In response to community feedback, the City updated map colors and added street views with aerial photography, more landmarks, and resources in June 2024.
June 2024 Supreme Court Ruling on Public Camping: What it Means for Hillsboro
While the Supreme Court ruling in Grants Pass v. Johnson allows criminal & civil punishment for public camping, Oregon law still requires rules & enforcement to be objectively reasonable.
The City will continue to focus on providing education & services before enforcing penalties and does not plan to create more restrictive camping rules. Read the news article to learn more.
January 2024 Updates
In January 2024, the City made two adjustments to the rules for camping on public property after inviting community members to provide public comment. Read the February 2024 news article to learn more.
Community Engagement
Community-Wide Feedback
In March & April 2023, all community members were invited to provide input via the Camping Rules Survey and Ask Us a Question tools available on this page.
Community Advisors: Camping Ordinance Workgroup
Thirty to 40 diverse community stakeholders met three times this spring to:
- Learn about proposed ordinance updates
- Review questions and community-wide survey results
- Provide recommendations to the Hillsboro City Council
You can watch Workgroup session recordings and read discussion points here on Engage Hillsboro.
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Level of Engagement
| Consult: Obtain community feedback on processes, ideas, alternatives, and/or decisions |
Who's Listening
Stay Informed!
Interactive Public Camping Map
A new, interactive public property camping map provides address search and zoom capability.
Camping Rules Survey Results
More than 850 community members took the Camping Rules Survey to share their thoughts on the impacts of homelessness and unmanaged camping.
The Workgroup talked through the results during Session 2 to better understand the community impacts of homelessness and inform their recommendations.
The Hillsboro City Council reviewed the survey results along with the Workgroup's recommendations as they considered the ordinance updates in May.