When SCOTUS rules on Grants Pass, Portland will be affected

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) -- A small group of demonstrators from Stop The Sweeps PDX gathered at Pioneer Courthouse Square in downtown Portland on Monday as the US Supreme Court heard arguments in a case out of Grants Pass on whether cities can ban and/or fine homeless people sleeping on city streets.

Dozens of Oregon cities have created restrictions on where and when people can camp. The City of Portland's attempt to create those rules was temporarily blocked.

Groups who support the Grants Pass position told KOIN 6 News they want the Supreme Court ruling to provide clarity into how cities can deal with the homeless and housing. Groups like Stop The Sweeps PDX maintain cities can already deal with homelessness by providing housing and shelter.

The League of Oregon Cities, with Portland's support, advocated for the nation's highest court to take this case. They claim there is no current clarity in how US cities -- especially those on the West Coast -- can create regulations around homeless camping.

"There's very little guidance in the cases about what is legally permissible at this stage," said Anit Jindal, who represents the League of Oregon Cities. "It's not clear what it means for someone to have reasonable access to shelter."

"Municipalities keep screaming that this decision has tied their hands," added Juan Chavez, the director of the Oregon Justice Resource Center. "That's not really the case."

Chavez said cities have the tools to create enough housing and shelter and that should be their strategy to address homelessness.

"Cities already have the ability to move camps, to move tents. They could do so with notice. They can do so with their police or with other other entities from their municipalities," Chavez said. "What cities apparently want is to be able to also jail and fine people for being houseless."

The Portland camping ban is an example of rules city leaders thought were allowed but were placed on hold by the courts.

But Jindal said what the League of Oregon Cities has been looking for "has been flexibility and workability to ensure that public spaces are safe for all communities, safe and usable for all communities."

An Oregon law states cities must create restrictions that are reasonable around when and where someone can camp.

"It's quite costly for a city, for a small city or even a big one, to spend years in litigation trying to understand the contours of whether an ordinance is enforceable," Jindal said. "That really does tie the hands of cities."

Legal experts who spoke with KOIN 6 News expect the Supreme Court will change the current ruling in some way, but are unclear if it will be with a narrow, limited ruling or something that more completely sides with the Grants Pass position.