NEWS
A12 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2020
Hermiston council, candidates
discuss homelessness
By JADE MCDOWELL
NEWS EDITOR
Hermiston’s new ordinance
regulating temporary emer-
gency shelters was back on the
agenda during the Hermiston
City Council’s Oct. 12 meet-
ing, but ultimately councilors
decided to leave the ordinance
the same.
The council had previously
passed an ordinance on Sept. 14
that allowed homeless shelters
as a conditional use on industrial
land. But regulations in the ordi-
nance, including a rule that the
shelters must be 1,000 feet from
schools and parks and a rule that
they must be co-located on a site
with an existing industrial use,
ruled out the property behind the
Agape House where a local non-
profit known as Stepping Stones
had planned to build a shelter.
After the Stepping Stones
board announced they didn’t
see any viable locations for their
project inside city limits, Coun-
cilor Roy Barron asked that city
staff draw up new maps show-
ing what land would be avail-
able if the 1,000-foot rule were
changed to 750 feet or 500 feet.
“I just don’t feel like they had
a fair shake,” Barron said of the
Stepping Stones group.
Even though he voted along
with the rest of the council to
approve the ordinance origi-
nally, during the Oct. 12 meeting
he said he understood the buf-
fer zone around schools, but the
buffer around parks didn’t make
sense to him, because homeless
residents are already sleeping
and loitering in parks now.
“People are still going to be
in the parks because they have
no other place,” he said.
When City Planner Clint
Spencer showed the council the
maps of what a 500-foot or 750-
foot rule would look like, how-
ever, councilors felt a change
wouldn’t make enough of a dif-
ference to make it worth going
through the entire planning
commission and public hearing
process again.
“There would be very little
benefit to it,” Councilor Jackie
Myers said.
Both maps opened up some
extra industrial land surround-
ing the intersection West Elm
Avenue and North First Place,
including the property where
Marlette Homes and Umatilla
Electric Cooperative are located.
It did not open up the property
behind the Agape House, which
is closer than 500 feet to Theater
Sports Park.
Spencer did point out that
anyone who wishes to build a
project that does not fit all of
the city’s zoning regulations is
allowed to apply for a variance
from the planning commission,
granting an exception to that
rule for the specific project.
Mayor David Drotzmann
said it was a “misnomer” to
think that if the city does noth-
ing on the subject of a homeless
shelter that the existing issues
will go away. He said on a call
with state Rep. Greg Smith ear-
lier that day he discussed the
community’s challenges with
homelessness, and the need for
more help with mental health
and addiction resources in the
area.
Candidate forum
During a forum for Hermis-
ton City Council candidates on
Oct. 6, the five candidates for
four at-large seats on the coun-
cil were asked to share their
views on what role, if any, the
city should play in tackling
homelessness.
Incumbent Doug Primmer
said the city has a responsibility
to help all residents, including
those that are homeless, and the
city should look at “methods to
provide some type of assistance.”
However, he also stated he had
heard that some homeless people
were already moving to Hermis-
ton specifically in the hopes of
seeing a shelter built there. Police
Chief Jason Edmiston told the
council during a recent meeting
that at least one person had told
officers he had come to Hermis-
ton specifically because he heard
a shelter might be built.
“I don’t want us to be a des-
tination for the homeless, or a
dumping point,” Primmer said.
Councilor David McCarthy
said he felt it was in the city’s
best interest to provide some-
where homeless residents can
safely stay, and find services that
will help them be “contributing
members of society.”
“I don’t know if the answer
is the projects that have been
presented to us so far,” he said.
“But I do think that, especially
with the letters of support and
the letters against projects like
Stepping Stones, we need to
be examining this more closely
since this is an issue that, obvi-
ously, people care about.”
Maria Duron, who is run-
ning for the council for the first
time, said homelessness is a
“state issue” and the city should
be looking toward state fund-
ing and partnerships with local
groups to fund more permanent
solutions than the Hermiston
Warming Station and Martha’s
House.
Councilor Rod Hardin said
the city needs somewhere for
homeless residents to stay, but
he said the biggest challenge is
finding the right location. He
said he was pleased to see the
faith community step up to look
for solutions.
Nancy Peterson, also run-
ning for the first time, rebuked
the rest of the candidates for
the language they used when
talking about the city’s home-
less residents.
“I think the first thing we
need to do is stop talking about
‘those homeless people’ and we
need to start talking about ‘us,’”
she said. “We need to personal-
ize this because we are all — if
not those of us in here, then the
people we pass on the street —
one or two paychecks away from
being one of ‘those people.’”
Peterson said she was once
homeless for three months,
despite working two jobs during
that time period. She said beyond
shelter, people experiencing
homelessness need access to
things like showers, transporta-
tion and a place to pick up their
mail in order to be able to get or
keep a job.
Marchers celebrate
Indigenous Peoples Day
Photos by Ben Lonergan/Hermiston Herald
Protesters carry signs and march in support of Indigenous Peoples Day and
for the abolition of Columbus Day as the sun sets along Highway 395 in
Hermiston on Monday, Oct. 12, 2020.
Above, Kassi Harp,
left, and her daughter
Nova, 4, lead a group
of marchers along
Highway 395 in
support of Indigenous
Peoples Day and
for the abolition of
Columbus Day on
Monday, Oct. 14, 2020,
in Hermiston.
At left, protesters
march along Highway
395 in support of
Indigenous People’s
Day
Hermiston
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