GRANTS PASS, OR – April 16, 2025 — The Grants Pass City Council voted to approve two additional homeless campsites on Wednesday night in response to a court order requiring the city to increase its designated campsites to accommodate a growing homeless population. The decision was made in an effort to comply with a ruling in a lawsuit claiming the city’s treatment of homeless individuals violated Oregon state law.
The court had mandated that the city expand its homeless campsite capacity to match the numbers offered before the closure of a former campsite in January, which had previously housed an estimated 150 tents. As a result, the city was required to identify new sites to fulfill the order and avoid legal repercussions.
After careful deliberation, the Council voted 6-2 in favor of two new campsites, which will be located in parking lots adjacent to an existing campsite. Despite recommendations from the police chief to avoid clustering all the sites together, the councilors chose to approve these locations as a temporary solution.
Councilor Indra Nicholas, who voted against the new sites, expressed her concerns about fairness, suggesting that the campsites should be more evenly distributed across the city’s four wards to ensure that no single area should bear the entire burden of the expansion. “I would rather see 40, 40, 40, 40, split up in each ward, just to make it fair for everyone in our community,” she remarked during the meeting.
Opponents of the new campsites voiced concerns about the potential for increased crime and drug use in the area. Kate Huckert, a local resident who lives and works across from the proposed sites, shared her fears about safety. “I’ve seen drug deals and violent outbursts. Now I have 150 proposed unstable people that are going to be feet from my bedroom and my child’s bedroom and my clients,” Huckert stated, stressing her need for assurances about the safety of her home and workplace.
Councilors acknowledged the challenges of the situation and reassured residents that the campsites would only be a temporary measure. Councilor Kathleen Krohn empathized with the community’s concerns, admitting, “This isn’t fair all the way around. It isn’t fair that we’re being targeted here for this huge problem. And nobody wants it in their backyard. This is a tough decision.”
The city had only recently emerged from a separate court injunction, which had been in place for four years and concerned the city’s handling of homelessness. This injunction was lifted after a ruling in favor of Grants Pass by the U.S. Supreme Court.
As part of the new plan, the city will provide essential services, including restrooms, trash removal, and fencing, at both of the newly approved sites. The first site, currently used by City Hall employees for parking, is set to transition into a homeless campsite on April 23, according to City Manager Aaron Cubic. The second site, which is currently occupied by the addiction treatment center OnTrack, will take longer to prepare for use, as it requires the relocation of the center’s operations before it can be made available.
To comply with the court’s order, the city must also ensure that all designated campsites provide accessible routes and surfaces for people with disabilities. In the meantime, the court ruling prohibits the city from enforcing its public camping laws, with the exception of Riverside Park and Reinhardt Volunteer Park.
As the city moves forward with these temporary measures, it faces the dual challenge of meeting both legal obligations and the concerns of residents. The outcome of this decision will likely have long-term implications for how Grants Pass addresses homelessness in the future.
