City of Bend, Deschutes County outline Saturday’s closure of public land at Juniper Ridge, Temporary Safe Stay Area
Barney Lerten
(Update: Adding video)
BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) — Deschutes County and the City of Bend, working collaboratively to address health and safety concerns at Juniper Ridge north of Bend, have established a Temporary Safe Stay Area for dispersed camping, they said in a joint news release Thursday, on the eve of Saturday’s deadline to move from nearby property.
Individuals camping in and around Juniper Ridge have been notified that the City-owned property in the area is closing on Saturday, May 31, and they must either leave the area or move to the designated TSSA location by that date.
Here’s the rest of Thursday’s news release:
During a joint meeting last fall, the Bend City Council and Deschutes County Commission agreed to designate 170 acres of public land for the TSSA. It includes 50 acres of County-owned land and 120 acres of City-owned land and is located east of U.S. Highway 97 and west of the railroad tracks. The goal is to close the TSSA by Dec. 31, 2026.
“By consolidating dispersed camping into a smaller, managed area at Juniper Ridge, we aim to reduce the health and safety risks for both campers and the surrounding community,” said Deschutes County Commission Chair Tony DeBone.
“The creation of the Temporary Safe Stay Area in collaboration with Deschutes County is vital for the safety of all of our community members,” said Bend Mayor Melanie Kebler. “By creating a managed camp, we are reducing health and safety risks, mitigating wildfire impacts and providing services for our unhoused community members to transition into more permanent housing.”
The Temporary Safe Stay Area is being jointly funded by the County and the City, with the County contributing $400,000 and the City allocating $731,000 of its American Rescue Plan Act funds, for a total project cost of $1,131,000. The funding provides:
Case management services through partnerships with local service providers
Support to find housing, including assistance with application fees and deposits
Data management and case review coordination
The joint agency agreement allows for the continuation of services currently being provided at Juniper Ridge, including sanitation services like drinking water stations, trash removal, hand washing stations and portable toilets. It also expands the security presence in the area.
Housing-based service providers are providing intensive case management to support individuals with transitions into more permanent housing and will continue to work with the Coordinated Houselessness Response Office (CHRO) to allocate and leverage county-wide resources to assist in case management and operations.
Deschutes County has completed a 50-acre fuels mitigation project at Juniper Ridge to reduce fire risk. The City of Bend will also be doing fuels mitigation work to help reduce the risk of wildfire on their respective property. This will include trimming tree limbs, clearing underbrush and creating a 200-foot firebreak around the perimeter of the City-owned property.
More information about the Temporary Safe Stay Area can be found here.