Bend City Council updates Deschutes County on the closure of Juniper Ridge’s TSSA
Tracee Tuesday
(Update: Meeting info, comments from city and county officials)
BEND, Ore. {KTVZ} — One of the most pressing challenges in Central Oregon is addressing how each city manages its homeless population.
On Monday, elected officials convened to specifically examine that issue for the City of Bend.
The Deschutes County Board of Commissioners held a joint meeting with the Bend City Council Monday afternoon.
One of the main agenda items was for city staff to update county officials on the status and scheduled “closure” of the homeless camp at Juniper Ridge.
That joint resolution stipulated:
That the ‘Temporary Safe Stay Area’ (TSSA) should close no later than December 31, 2026.
The city reported, currently, there are around 191 people living in the safe area.
The homeless there are frustrated.
Michelle Hester who resides at the TSSA, said, “There’s more than 191 people out there. The handwashing place they talk about have never been used. The bathrooms are barely clean anymore, where there’s a few showers and trying to pick up the garbage. We are off building our own water tank truck to fight the fires up there, because we can’t get the fire trucks out there fast enough.”
The City of Bend reported to county commissioners they have since had a change of heart and would now like to see a portion of the TSSA closure date extended, while reducing the population in other areas within the area.
The TSSA is broken down into four sections:
The City Council said, sections 1 and 2 are in areas encompassing the Central Oregon Irrigation District (COID).
The city received several complaints from COID regarding trespassing, saying homeless campers were traveling through areas containing underground infrastructure not designed for pedestrian or vehicle traffic.
The city wants the county’s help building additional fencing around COID property to better protect their structures.
The city also wants the county to close sections 1 and 2, and move the campers to sections 3 and 4, where visibility is greater, and staff have improved access for management and oversight.
Again, this would all entail extending the closure date, said Bend City Councilwoman Gina Franzosa.
“My hope is that if we have a, you know, sort of a menu of options, that can be put into a plan, as I’m hoping for and asking for, and so then we’ll kick it down the road, but we’re going to kick it to a place and time when and what we can identify. And then we’re going to stick with that deadline. So yeah, I’m not in favor of indefinite extensions.”
County Commissioner Tony DeBone would like to stick to the agreed upon closure date.
Fellow Commissioner Phil Chang says he would approve of an extension.
Commissioner Patti Adair was undecided.
“We still have a lot to learn,” she said. ” I mean, you saw this financial statement, which really, the service providers have hardly billed for anything, and they’ve been working for seven months, so I would like to see their billing. You know, in three more months, I think things should be just a bit clearer.”
Monday’s joint meeting was more informational, rather than decision-making.
The general consensus was more research was needed into ‘where will the houseless go’ once the TSSA is shut down.
The city and county say they would like to reconvene in January to hopefully make a final decision.
Juniper_Ridge_TSSA_City_County Update_20250929 (1)Download
Previous Report:
The Deschutes County Board of Commissioners were holding a public joint meeting with the Bend City Council, on Monday afternoon.
One of the main agenda items was for city staff to update county officials on the status and scheduled closure late next year of the homeless camp at Juniper Ridge, the “Temporary Safe Stay Area” the two governments agreed upon a year ago.
At a recent City Council meeting, council members entertained closing a portion of the homeless camp, while leaving some of the property open beyond 2026, to allow the houseless more time to find housing.
Tracee Tuesday is attending the joint meeting and will have a full report tonight on KTVZ News at 10 p.m. on Fox and 11 p.m. on NBC.