A6
THE ASTORIAN • SATURDAY, JULY 16, 2022
Homeless camping: People would also
Tiny Micro-Chip Now
have to maintain at least 10 feet of distance
Available!
from building entrances and stairwells
In The Ear:
Continued from Page A1
The City Council will
review the draft on Monday
night, but no decision will be
made until a future meeting.
A map identifying areas that
camping would and would
not be allowed will also be
presented.
Former Police Chief
Geoff Spalding, who moved
into a temporary, part-time
role since retiring , noted that
the new standards require
the ordinance to be objec-
tively reasonable.
Spalding said it must be
reasonable from the per-
spective of the city, commu-
nity and, in particular, peo-
ple who are homeless.
“Especially when you’re
talking about proximity to
services and places they can
eat ... and work and what
have you,” he said. “Those
are all important. So you
have to look at it from all
perspectives, not just ours.”
The draft outlines two
components: camping on
public property and camp-
ing on private property.
For public property, the
city began by identifying
places people cannot sleep.
Those areas include all
parks, city owned and main-
tained parking lots, public
restrooms, residential zones,
areas underneath roads or
bridges that are not open
to the public and sidewalks
where 6 feet of space cannot
be maintained.
People would also have
to maintain at least 10 feet
of distance from building
entrances and stairwells.
‘ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU’RE
TALKING ABOUT PROXIMITY
TO SERVICES AND PLACES
THEY CAN EAT ... AND WORK
AND WHAT HAVE YOU. THOSE
ARE ALL IMPORTANT. SO YOU
HAVE TO LOOK AT IT FROM ALL
PERSPECTIVES, NOT JUST OURS.’
Now You See It...
ou
face a roughly three-year
waiting list. The letter also
cites the county’s 2019
housing study that predicts
a need in the coming years
for over 1,500 new housing
units to meet demand.
The county proposes that
the state off er technical assis-
tance to rural communities.
This could include help-
ing counties and cities plan
new housing-related devel-
opment, enforce codes on
properties with a history of
violations, provide services
to homeless veterans and
assess whether strategies
for addressing housing and
homelessness are feasible,
the letter says.
The county also sug-
gests “community engage-
ment assistance to address
misinformation and public
concerns about their prox-
imity to aff ordable housing
developments/programs.”
Astoria’s recent expe-
rience with a proposed
workforce housing project
with a built-in behavioral
health component for Her-
itage Square, for example,
ou
Geoff Spalding | former Astoria police chief
who moved into a temporary, part-time role since retiring
Spalding noted that com-
plaints from business own-
ers about people sleeping
under awnings and in door-
ways has historically been
the police department’s No.
1 call for service related to
homelessness.
The exclusions make up
the vast majority of the city,
leaving public rights of way
in commercial areas on the
table.
“We can’t anticipate
every possible location that
someone could be or a pos-
sible place we may want to
be off -limits,” Spalding said.
“Once this is done, it will
continue to be modifi ed.”
He said places could be
added or removed from the
exclusion list, but it would
require approval by the
City Council. Spalding said
changes after adoption of
the ordinance would be done
through a more nimble pro-
cess that could be approved
by the council through a
resolution.
The second component
deals with camping on pri-
vate property . A regulated
camping program could
allow camping in parking
lots of churches, non profi ts
and businesses, and poten-
tially in vacant or aban-
doned commercial or indus-
trial properties with owner
permission.
An earlier draft that
would have allowed home-
owners to take part in the
program has been taken off
the table.
Up to six people in three
vehicles or tents in any com-
bination could sleep on
the property. The property
owner would have to pro-
vide sanitary facilities, gar-
bage services and storage
areas. They would not be
allowed to collect payment .
The draft includes a
number
of
safeguards
and the ability to revoke
permissions.
The
private
camp-
ing would have to fol-
low the time and manner
provisions.
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Housing: County would like to see the
state help build capacity for local agencies
Continued from Page A1
Now You Don’t!
THE COUNTY ALSO REQUESTS
FUNDS TO HELP DISPOSE OF
ABANDONED RECREATIONAL
VEHICLES AND CLEAN UP
WASTE AT DESERTED HOMELESS
CAMPS, AS WELL AS FOR
WETLAND MITIGATION SO THAT
UNDEVELOPED LAND CAN BE USED
FOR HOUSING-RELATED PROJECTS,
THE LETTER SAYS.
became mired in such con-
cerns, as well as a focal point
of misinformation, before
city leaders withdrew sup-
port for fi nancial reasons.
The county would like
to see the state help build
capacity for local agen-
cies — such as emergency
shelters and resource navi-
gation centers — that con-
front the housing issue. The
letter argues for more staff -
ing for Clatsop Commu-
nity Action’s homeless liai-
son program, which sends
advocates into the homeless
community to try to connect
them to services.
The letter asks for sup-
port in the development
of 15 parcels the county
recently off ered up to cit-
ies and nonprofi ts for hous-
ing, child care and social
services.
The county also requests
funds to help dispose of
abandoned
recreational
vehicles and clean up waste
at deserted homeless camps,
as well as for wetland miti-
gation so that undeveloped
land can be used for hous-
ing-related projects, the let-
ter says.
Don’t Wait!
Offer ends July 20th!
Tillamook
Warrenton
2505 Main Ave N Ste. C
Tillamook, OR 97141
503-836-7926
173 S. Hwy. 101
Warrenton, OR 97146
503-836-7921
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Outbreaks: More than 74% of county
residents have been fully vaccinated
Continued from Page A1
Administrators at Clatsop Care
Retirement Village and Clatsop Care
Memory Community could not imme-
diately be reached for comment. Both
facilities operate under the Clatsop
Care Health District.
Outbreaks at care homes have been
of particular concern to public health
leaders because of the vulnerability of
the elderly population to the virus.
Jiancheng Huang, the new director
of the Clatsop County Public Health
Department, said the outbreaks were
not surprising .
“Thanks to past eff orts by our com-
munity to protect themselves and their
loved ones from becoming sick with
COVID, we have had very few out-
breaks,” he said in a statement. “But it
is not surprising that we now are see-
ing outbreaks since the COVID virus
keeps mutating and this variant is more
contagious.”
COVID-19 case counts had declined
but rose again in the spring as o micron
subvariants began to circulate, spik-
ing in May and June. Omicron subva-
riants BA.4 and BA.5 now dominate
new virus cases, according to the health
authority.
The P ublic H ealth D epartment,
Huang said, urges people to get vacci-
nated and boosted, especially people 60
and older and who are immunocompro-
mised, to reduce their risk of illness and
hospitalization.
More than 74 % of county residents
have been fully vaccinated .
“Now we have lab and home tests
available for COVID,” Huang said.
“If anyone tests positive, they need
to be isolated for fi ve days, according
to (the) Oregon Health Authority. We
know many people are testing them-
selves using home testing kits. If they
have symptoms but test negative, they
need to retest in 24 to 48 hours.”
As of Wednesday, the county had
recorded 5,453 virus cases and 53
deaths, according to the health authority .
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