Bend City Council considers different approach to addressing homelessness camping code

By ANNA KAMINSKI The Bulletin, Sep 9, 2022 Updated Oct 15, 2023

As the city of Bend prepares to draft its first unsanctioned camping code, which will create rules around homeless camping on city rights of way, some staff want to apply an “equity analysis” to the process.”We need to ensure that the code reflects something that is feasible for our community members who are currently sleeping outside,” said Anna Allen, the equity and inclusion director for the city.

Two community open house sessions last month saw heightened public concern for what some saw as the Bend City Council’s lack of attention to inclusive discussions.

On Wednesday, council members discussed restrictions for in-vehicle camping for the first time. They expressed interest in relying on existing parking rules for time and place regulations, which require people to move their vehicles every three business days.

Council members said they intend to develop “objective and reasonable” standards for how people can camp inside their vehicles, something that is not regulated under existing parking rules.

The city’s Human Rights and Equity Commission developed a set of recommendations for the City Council to take into account as it proceeds with its next steps. The commission offers guidance and recommendations to the council to ensure representation and consideration for marginalized people and communities.

One of the commission’s recommendations asked for “an appropriate and thorough equity analysis.”

“An equity framework or analysis really is just providing a frame of reference that enables leaders to navigate nuanced or complex situations that have equity impacts,” Allen said.

Equity and equality are different, said Joanne Mina, who is a member of the human rights commission, at Wednesday’s meeting.

“Equity is the uneven distribution of time, resources and focus with the intention that we all have the same outcome — that we’re all able to thrive,” Mina said.

An equity analysis can be especially useful when creating policy that affects marginalized communities, like people of color, people with disabilities or people who are unhoused, because their perspectives are historically unheard, said Allen.

The Homeless Leadership Coalition’s annual one-night count of people experiencing homelessness in Central Oregon from earlier this year showed a 17% increase in people who were homeless from 2021 to 2022. Almost 80% of the 1,012 people counted were unsheltered, the count said.

This large percentage of unsheltered individuals in the region can be attributed to a lack of shelter beds, which is something Deschutes County and the city of Bend are attempting to address through their joint homelessness response office.

As the City Council embarks on developing the unsanctioned camping code to address the uncertainty of where, when and how people can camp, its next phase entails drafting the code itself and continuing community engagement.

Amid public requests to include unhoused and unsheltered individuals in the decision-making process, Allen said, an equity analysis could be the solution to mitigate harm and ensure safety.

Allen said the analysis begins by asking, “Who is this policy going to impact, and have we included them in the conversation?” to gauge where gaps exist within policy and to offer solutions on how to fill those gaps.

The concept of an equity analysis in Bend originated in “equity mapping.” Equity mapping is a tool developed by the city that created a map of geographic and demographic data to identify how policy decisions will impact populations, Allen said. She said the city is able to use the tool to look at a given area and determine accessibility and impact of a given project.

The equity analysis takes the mapping tool a step further, Allen said.

“An equity analysis asks about the social allocation of burdens and benefits,” Allen said. It asks the questions “Who is being impacted positively and negatively? Who is benefiting and who is paying the price?”

Applying an equity analysis and lens to the development of the unsanctioned camping code would require lending an “empathetic ear” to all stakeholders, no matter where they stand on the code, said human rights commission member Manoj Alipuria.

“Applying an equity lens more freely (enables) us to feel empathy for those impacted by the code,” said Alipuria.

Wednesday’s City Council meeting was the first time the human rights commission was officially involved in the conversation about the unsanctioned camping code. Alipuria told The Bulletin he hopes the council’s process remains grounded through an equity lens.

To him, equity in the unsanctioned camping code requires access to services and equal opportunities to be built into the code itself.

Alipuria said he was pleased with the thoughtful input from the City Council on Wednesday.

The city will host two discussions for community members, service providers and elected officials, among others. Councilors said Wednesday they would invite those who would be impacted by the code to the discussions.