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
- A vacant City-owned property located at NE 25th Ave & NE Evergreen Rd
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.
Camping Areas Updated in Downtown Hillsboro: Effective July 1, 2025
Overnight camping is no longer permitted in two areas of Downtown Hillsboro, pictured below.
During a quarterly review, these areas were determined to be within restricted zones per the City's camping rules. They include:
- The 600 Block of SE Baseline Street between 6th and 7th Avenue and SE Washington Street and surrounding public right-of-ways.
- Public right-of-ways within 500 feet of shelters and homelessness services located on the 100 & 300 Blocks of SE 6th Avenue.
View the full size map of affected areas.
Additional Updates
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.