There's a bright golden haze on the meadow


Hey, all you homeless people toughing it out on the hard sidewalks and back highways of inner Portland! Wouldn't you rather be living in a nice, green, comfy suburb, away from all the noise and pollution of the dirty city?

Well, here's your chance. Wilsonville is just down the road, and they're opening up for your business.

The new rules, if approved, will go into effect July 1, and allow camping in designated areas within the city from 9 p.m. to 7 a.m....

The city intends to allow people in vehicles to camp in the City Hall parking lot, and people without vehicles will be allowed to camp in the field to the north of City Hall. Plans to spend $100,000 on plants, fences and portable restrooms to make the area more suitable for camping have been proposed, but are still subject to future council approval....

Additionally, the new rules limit individual campsites to 100 square feet or within the confines of a vehicle. Open flames are not allowed, and alcohol, tobacco and cannabis are not to be used. Vehicles used for camping must be operational, registered and insured.

What could go wrong?

So steal yourself a Kia and get down there. Good times await!

Comments

  1. I sure wouldn't want to live in a car, but for some it is simply their best and only option. There are "regulars" who live in their cars during the day at Champoeg State Park 15 minutes from Wilsonville, mostly folks with a disability or three. Now they'll have a new option for nighttime parking. Good luck with the no smoking rules . . . .

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  2. I live in Wilsonville. I believe this was the direct result of a city sponsored survey asking residents where the homeless should be allowed to camp (not if). The choices included neighborhoods, parks, commercial areas, industrial areas, city property and environmentally sensitive areas. Barring camping wasn't an option (apparently because of various state laws and federal rulings).

    Knowing that our city council has a history of throwing its hands up and deferring to higher authority (state, metro) whenever they want to pursue unpopular policy choices, I indicated that city property was the preferred place to allow camping (with environmentally sensitive places second).

    I figured that the only way to make city hall push back was to make them directly absorb the effects of the policy every day. Looks like I wasn't the only one to respond to the survey this way.

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  3. Will this become the norm when AI gets going, forces people out of work and living in their cars.

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  4. Maybe Wilsonville is trying to divert attention from the April 6 State Aviation Board meeting when one of Wilsonville's staffers supposedly Zoom-bombed the meeting with a very, very naughty photo, prompting a call to the police.

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