Medford city council approves new prohibited camping ordinance

After a second reading during a special session on Friday, Medford's city council voted to approve a controversial new prohibited camping ordinance that would prohibit sleeping in a tent on public property year-round.

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This means that starting on may 1st through september 30 no one will be allowed to live on the greenway or in prescott park .

Joining us live now is newswatch 12's brett taylor.

Brett what sort of consequences could some of those un-housed people face if they decide not to leave the greenway on may 1st?

According to medford's deputy city manager kelly madding if someone decides not to leave the greenway on may 1st then it would be considered a criminal offense and they could be arrested.

However from some of the people i talked to today who have lived on the greenway they tell me that most likely there will be very few cases of arrests.

But the big questions that still on the community's mind is where are these people going to go?

Well they've got a few options open right now including the kelly shelter and the urban campground run by rogue retreat.

Rogue retreat told me today that with the new camping ordinance passing that they are looking to expand the campground even further to help house the possible influx of people that will soon be coming their way.

Well we already knew we had to expand the campground.

And we added a few more sites in the last few weeks.

But we are also talking with the city right now and we are trying to figure out how to double the campground site.

We think we can do it.

We know its going to take money and resources and staff but those things can be found if we have the will to do it."

Yesterday in the city council's first discussion of the new ordinance, medford's chief of police estimated that there are at least a few hundred people living along the greenway in medford.

If the campground is able to double in size that means that the site could be a temporary home for at least 150 un-house people in medford.

Which should help alleviate some of the effects that the new ordinance will bring when