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Amid rise in homelessness, Astoria passes camping ban in its forests

City officials unanimously passed an ordinance Monday night that will ban the growing trend of camping in Astoria's city-owned forests.

ASTORIA, Ore. — High in the dense, forest covered hills towering above Astoria’s iconic coastline, a growing number of homeless men, women and families are living life hidden.

Their reasons vary, said 31-year-old Eric Conley as he stood next to a compost pile he’d stashed between two trees.

Some have lost jobs and housing. Some are hooked on drugs. Some are battling mental health issues. Some, like him, just want to be left alone.

“I like my autonomy and stuff,” the New Jersey native Thursday said. “I’ve been working all my life, and I kind of just figured ‘I don’t like this.’”

But Conley’s time living off the land has a clock on it, as city officials unanimously passed an ordinance Monday night that will ban the growing trend of camping in Astoria’s city-owned forests.

A potential violation will come with a fine of up to $1,000.

It’s the same violation in place for years-old anti-camping ordinances tied to the city’s parks and other public spaces.

Until now, the woods had remained a loophole.

“It’s not so much that we need them to get out of here that quickly,” police Chief Geoff Spalding said. “It's just we know very soon the rains are going to become a regular thing here and the public safety issues are even more severe, and we're not going to be able to come up here and help them get their stuff out of here.”

Chief Spalding pointed out the terrain in the forest is uneven and, in spots, steep.

First responders, called to help a camper who was injured or ill, would have their work cut out for them.

“It’s a very emotional issue for a lot of them because this is where they live,” said Detective Ken Hansen of the campers he meets.

Chief Spalding and Detective Hansen, the department’s only homeless liaison, walked from empty camp to empty camp on October 4.

“Anyone home? Astoria Police Department!” called the chief.

Time after time no one answered.

A lot of people leave their camps during the day to go to work, socialize, buy food, get drugs and other reasons, Hansen explained.

“I think the west coast in general always attracts people,” said Elaine Bruce.

Bruce is the executive director of Clatsop Community Action, a non-profit that, among other missions, helps the area’s homeless population.

Bruce acknowledged the issue of camping in the forest is a relatively new one.

According to the Daily Astorian, 2017’s Point In Time Count showed 682 homeless people lived in Clatsop County.

At the time, though, advocates said they believed the total was higher.

Bruce believes it’s higher still during the summer months, thanks to “travelers” who migrate and camp up and down the west coast.

But this new, potential ordinance arose, in large part, thanks to complaints by neighbors living near the forest’s entrance on Franklin Street.

Though they didn’t want to be named, multiple neighbors told KGW they didn’t feel safe walking through the forest anymore.

They said they’d seen people doing drugs, defecating in the open, and one woman said she’d been threatened.

Bruce doesn't discount those experiences, but she added there are people living in the woods who hold down jobs and have children.

“I see both sides and I’d like to see a reasonable solution,” Bruce said. “I believe the city is looking for reasonable solutions.”

At a City Council meeting on October 1, officials postponed action on the ordinance until October 15 to give advocates and police time to help campers access social services.

“We used to have our usual group of unhoused,” said Detective Hansen on Thursday. "And in the last few years it’s really grown.”

After touring three empty campsites, the officers came across Conley, whom they knew.

Talk of the ordinance led to a discussion about his situation.

Conley said he’d dealt with mental health issues and drug addiction before.

Chief Spalding asked him what he’ll do if the ordinance passes.

“Really, it's like a multiple-choice question for my options because I can't really go out and get rent,” Conley said. “So, I either have to go into the forest that way, become like a vestibule sleeper or wander around more I guess like hitch hike again.”

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