Judge blocks Oregon city at center of SCOTUS homelessness ruling from enforcing ban on encampments
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An Oregon judge has issued a preliminary injunction blocking a rural city at the center of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling on homeless encampments from enforcing camping restrictions unless certain conditions are met.

Josephine County Circuit Court Judge Sarah McGlaughlin ruled Friday that the city of Grants Pass must increase capacity at locations the city approved for camping and ensure the sites are physically accessible to people with disabilities.

If the city fails to meet those conditions, the judge’s order prohibits the city from citing, arresting or fining people for camping on public property. It also prevents the city from forcing people to leave campsites, from removing campsites that are not clearly abandoned or from prohibiting camping in most city parks.

The city may still enforce rules banning sleeping on sidewalks and streets or in alleys and doorways.

Grants Pass, Oregon

Vehicles drive down Rogue River Highway as light shines on the area on March 23, 2024, in Grants Pass, Oregon. (AP)

After the lawsuit was filed, the city reopened a second, smaller site and extended the time people could remain at the location to four days.

McGlaughin’s order states that the city must increase capacity to what it was before the larger site was closed.

Tom Stenson, deputy legal director for Disability Rights Oregon, praised the ruling.

“This is not a radical solution. The court is basically saying, ‘Go back to the amount of space and places for people who are homeless that you had just three months ago,'” he told The Associated Press.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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