At this upcoming Monday’s meeting, Ward 6 Councilor Alison Bowden will look to put managed homeless camps on the Corvallis City Council’s agenda, or at least on their radar.
There is a draft resolution in the materials packet for the meeting, and Bowden has confirmed they intend to introduce it.
Their proposal is that Council set the goal to develop a camp, and then direct City Manager Mark Shepard to research and develop a plan to make it happen. As written, the proposal would have Shepard work with service providers, interested city residents, and Benton County to build a plan. He would be charged with updating the Council monthly about progress starting in January; a spring 2026 implementation is envisioned.
It is early days for the proposal, when we asked Bowden about the resolution, they said, “This is a resolution developed in conjunction with local service providers and housing justice advocates that I am proud to introduce for council consideration. I don’t expect council to make a final decision at this time, based on past experience, but I will be advocating for this legislation to be formally discussed, reviewed by appropriate parties, and with the final goal of passing.”
The proposal is titled A Resolution to Establish a Stabilization and Transition Engagement Program (STEP) to Provide Safety, Stability, and Service Access for Unsheltered Residents.
Camp envisioned, goals
Materially, the draft resolution calls for a site offering consistent access to restrooms, drinking water, and garbage disposal, as well as secure and predictable overnight spaces.
The proposal’s stated goals include integrating support services by allowing service providers consistent access to offer case management, healthcare, and services. Hoped for outcomes also include an enhanced continuum of care that leads to transitional and ultimately permanent housing.
The resolution frames the current circumstances this way, “Experts and service providers largely agree that camp postings and clearings, which are used to enforce the Time, Place, and Manner Ordinance, are disruptive, ineffective at connecting people to services, and impractical given the scale of need.”
Community impact
As currently proposed, a site would be selected for a two-year period. The site selection would be based on what’s being called geographic equity. If approved, the City Manager would be tasked with building a comprehensive communication plan for informing both unsheltered individuals and nearby residents of program locations, durations, and changes. Shepard would also need to develop detailed cost estimates.
The resolution says the current situation, “contributes to problems with waste and unsanitary conditions in parks and other public spaces,” and it says it is seeking to “Promote community health by reducing environmental impacts and disruptions in public spaces through a structured and serviced approach.”
Scope, motivations
The resolution, in its whereas section, cites numbers that are painful to read. Like the 2025 Point-In-Time count finding about 550 individuals experiencing homelessness in Benton County, including 289 sheltered and 261 unsheltered, with most in the Corvallis area. There are probably far more than that.
It also says 37% of Corvallis residents have experienced what is generally defined by most experts as severe housing cost burden. 293 evictions are cited in the resolution, but the most recent number from Eviction Oregon shows it’s 315 in the twelve months ending on October 15.
The resolution also says, “The 2025 legislative session saw nearly $1 billion in cuts to housing and homeless funding, including a $140 million cut to homelessness prevention services, which is very likely to result in an increase in the number of people experiencing homelessness.”
Our analysis
Bowden is entering a challenging landscape, what they are pursuing won’t be easy.
Back in 2010 Corvallis embarked on a 10-Year Plan to End Homelessness. Locally, the numbers have about doubled since. Many cities nationwide started similar 10-Year plans about the same time, the results have often mirrored Corvallis’, especially on the West Coast.
Locally, we have been reporting on attempts to open managed camps over the last couple of decades. None of the efforts have taken root. Finances have been hard to come by. Finding a site, nigh impossible.
In this sector, private and public funders seem to have preferred plunking down their limited resources on shelters, transitional or permanent supportive housing, and in the last few years, prevention. They have also seemed motivated to spend on the wraparound services that many homeless folks often need.
Corvallis has also presented some layout challenges. In larger urban environments, you may well have an industrial area a short distance from the services homeless folks need. If you don’t have that, you can maybe choose a more rural spot for a camp, but then people need transportation for services, and that has costs. Corvallis hasn’t had much industrial area that isn’t somehow emmeshed with residential or public facing businesses. And the City hasn’t had the scale to budget for transportation.
Not long back, it had looked like Unity Shelter had navigated around all this, but with about six figures spent, they ultimately couldn’t make it work. Before that, there was discussion of a camp in South Corvallis, but residents started sharpening their lawyers and the City decided to move on.
For all these reasons, we think this resolution starts the City down an uncertain road. We also think it’s worth it. Temperatures are dipping, 261 of our fellows are unsheltered. Applying a fresh set of eyes seems like a very reasonable idea.
As no small aside, however, we think those eyes need to look at programs with a several year track record of positive results. Those programs don’t have to be in Oregon. But it would also help if the communities were somewhat like Corvallis otherwise.
An endorsement letter
Many leaders in Corvallis’ homeless services sector have endorsed Bowden’s proposal, here’s the text of their letter:
Dear Mayor and Council,
The undersigned members of the community are concerned about the conditions unsheltered people in our community face and wish to express our support for the resolution submitted by Councilor Bowden. We recognize that the City, County, State, and service providers have all been working hard to design improved systems and opportunities for transitional housing and permanent supports, including notably funding 47 units of permanent supportive housing and housing over 50 households. At the same time, the reality on the ground for unsheltered people has become worse, with a growing population and fewer shelter beds available.
Benton County, and Oregon more broadly, has an extreme housing shortage across all portions of the housing continuum, including congregate shelters, microshelters, temporary housing, permanent supportive housing, and affordable housing. The largest gap in availability is no- and low-barrier shelter options, which are in very high need in our community.
Currently, Corvallis’ combined shelter bed capacity is 185 units. We have at least 550 unhoused individuals in Benton County, mostly living in the City, with at least 261 who are currently unsheltered, as of January. This is a huge gap that will take many sustained years of dedicated funding and hard work to fill. Given the severe lack of shelter options, a short term solution is urgently needed until a longer-term solution can be implemented.
Camping is not an ideal solution for anyone, but until there are better options, camping will be an inevitable reality. If left unmanaged, camping will continue to pose problems for housed and unhoused residents alike, while frequently changing locations make it difficult or impossible for street outreach to maintain consistent services. Our group is asking the City of Corvallis to initiate conversations leading to the creation of a Stabilization and Transition Engagement Program (STEP) in collaboration with Benton County. Our group has engaged Benton County, and have found the County Commissioners to be interested in pursuing ongoing conversations about this program.
The Stabilization and Transition Engagement Program, as we define it, intends to provide a more stable and secure alternative to the current camping program by establishing designated spaces where unsheltered individuals can reside with access to supportive services. This program will enhance the continuum of care by building a clear, accessible pathway to transitional and ultimately permanent housing. When people are able to stay in a safe, stable space, providers and health workers can maintain consistent communication with them and get them connected to services, jobs, and housing. As such, this program will be temporary, and should align with the City and County’s ongoing work to end unsheltered homelessness and transition people indoors. While there are a number of logistical and operational details that still need to be addressed, we believe the City and County should prioritize addressing this issue.
This program would offer substantial benefits not only to the unhoused population, but also to the community as a whole. Overall risk and liability would be reduced, and environmental impacts on parks and riparian areas would be mitigated.
We are heartened to see the City of Seaside enacting a Temporary Camping Policy, which uses public lands and is created by City Government and managed by a local nonprofit service CC 11-03-2025 Packet Electronic Packet Page 6 provider. Notably, Seaside was able to use its general liability policy, City Insurance Services (CIS), to cover sanctioned camping on public lands. Seaside City Manager Spencer Kyle explains: “When considering liability, we recognize that individuals experiencing homelessness will be present on public property, whether scattered throughout the city or at a designated site. By choosing to provide a specific location, we can better manage both safety and legal compliance. CIS is well aware of the challenges cities face with unsheltered populations and camping in public spaces. Moreover, designating a site ensures we are in compliance with state law when regulating camping on public property.” The City of Corvallis contracts through the same insurance company, and we believe the same justification would apply.
Attached to this memo is a resolution directing City Staff to work collaboratively with Benton County and service providers to create STEP, which we ask that the City Council move to a work session for further discussion, revision, and ultimately, approval. Also attached is the City of Seaside’s Temporary Camping Policy, and the Rolling Moratorium Proposal submitted by Corvallis service providers in 2022. We hope that Staff will reference these documents as a basis for the program.
Sincerely, Housing Justice Coalition.
I have read the proposal, I support the concept, and I am willing to contribute to support its development and implementation.
Andrea Myrhe, Executive Director, Corvallis Housing First; Allison Hobgood, Maddison Bean and Maria Gonzales, Co-Executive Directors, Corvallis Daytime Drop-in Center; Shawn Collins, Executive Director, Unity Shelter; Pastor Jennifer Butler, First Congregational United Church of Christ; Pastor Rob Kirby; Kendra Phillips, Executive Director, Jackson Street Youth Services; Erik Swartzendruber, Director, Street Outreach Response Team; Pastor Matt Gordon, First Christian Church; Stephanie Miller, Executive Director, Center Against Rape and Domestic Violence; Pastor Heather Seman, Methodist Church
By Steven J. Schultz and Hallie Greenberg
Correction: This story has been updated with the correct pronouns for Councilor Bowden.
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