Call Sit-Lie Round 3 a Draw

By Sarah Owens and Michael Livingston

 

Sit-Lie Jr. forum #3 at Salem Housing Authority

The third forum on Sit-Lie, Jr. followed what the City calls an "open house format" -- simultaneous two- and three-person conversations -- designed perhaps to avoid what happened at the last two forums?  See "City Fumbles Sit Lie Forum", "Sit-Lie Jr Loses at 2d Forum", "City Schedules Sit-Lie Jr Round 3" (for the cartoon version).  

"Open house" meant no presentation -- just staff, tables, chairs, and comment forms for about fifty attendees.  Kenny Larson said he helped people audio-record seven or eight comments.  Seemed to be roughly even representation of business, the "homeless" community, and concerned citizens.

Per staff, comments will be *compiled* and made available along with a staff report when the ordinance bill goes to City Council, probably not before November.  *But, per the City Manager, the comments will be "scanned", greatly lessening the likelihood they will be read.

Comments that probably won't make it into the official record:  Mayor Bennett, that the people targeted by the ordinance "choose to be homeless" and Chamber rep Tom Hoffert, that he doesn't interfere with homeless camps, so it's only fair to expect homeless people not to interfere with business.  Asked by email for comment on his remark, Bennett replied, "No one chooses to be homeless." 

Also not likely to make it into the record is the fact that the City has advised the Mid-Willamette Community Action Agency, which owns the building commonly known as "The ARCHES building" at 615 Commercial Street NE, that its duty to maintain the adjacent parking strip (SRC 72.210) gives it the authority to "trespass" anyone camping on it, even though the strip is owned by the City.  MWVCAA in fact has a "trespass letter of consent" on file with the police department, and people have in fact been trespassed off the parking strip based on that TLC.

By implication, these facts would seem to greatly lessen the need for Ordinance Bill 10-19, because, if the duty to maintain (see SRC 72.210 and 72.220) gives any adjacent owner, lessee, occupant, etc.  the right to trespass people from the area they must maintain, then a business can just give the police a TLC that covers the sidewalk and any parking strip adjacent to their premises.  Voila, the supposedly pressing need for Sit-Lie, Jr. is greatly diminished, and everyone can relax.  This assumes the City Attorney's Office is on the same page with itself. 

10/5/19 Update:  Salem police have notified MWVCAA that "[a]fter extensive review, our legal department determined the police cannot take enforcement action on individuals who are occupying the landscape strip."