ASHLAND, Ore.- Ashland approved the new camping ordinance during their December 19th meeting.
According to Ashland Mayor Tonya Graham, the ordinance passed four to two again, meaning the ordinance will take effect thirty days after the vote. While the law will soon be in effect, the council is still working on how to help its unsheltered citizens.
“They [Ashland City Council] also included directions to staff to create, within the next thirty days, a proactive map of places people could camp in the event that we don’t have a designated space for them,” Mayor Graham told NBC5.
The council was supposed to discuss whether they should change their emergency shelter’s temperature threshold, to match other local cities, but they ran out of time. It currently opens when it’s below 32 degrees.
Mayor Graham also said Ashland is actively working to get more state funding to keep the emergency shelter open until March, as it’s currently planned to have to close by January 10th. She said they plan to discuss plans for the emergency shelter in more detail early next year.
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