Willamette Cove Restoration Plan Moves Forward, Neighbors Tackle Homeless Camping Issue

Although funding has yet to be found, and all of the contamination problems have yet to be dealt with, the Willamette Cove restoration project has once again picked up steam with the completion of an initial plan for the property. The plan, prepared by Alta Planning and Design, calls for the 27-acre waterfront lot—purchased by Metro in 1995 with Metro Open Space Bond dollars—to be returned to its natural habitat by turning it into an open greenspace, while also serving as an extension of the Willamette Greenway trail system.

The space is located on the eastern bank of the Willamette River between the Union Pacific Rail and the water. Lampros Steel borders the site to the Northwest, and the old McCormick and Baxter Creosoting Company lot is to the South.

Willamette Cove area. Photo: Bureau of Planning & Sustainability

Metro, Portland Bureau of Transportation and the Port of Portland entered a voluntary agreement with the Department of Environmental Quality in 2000 to start dealing with contamination issues stemming from the site’s industrial use dating back to the turn of the twentieth century. After conducting a remedial investigation and source control measures, the organizations have been hard at work cleaning the site. One such effort was the removal of over 1,000 cubic yards of contaminated soil in June of 2008.

The contamination maintenance must be complete before Metro can finalize the construction plans for the trails and landscaping within the greenway. Although there is still a lot of work to do, the forward-thinking Friends of Cathedral Park Neighborhood Association began discussing steps they could take to expedite the process at a February 9 monthly meeting.

“One issue that is going to arise as the process unfolds is the semi-permanent homeless camp at the end of [north] Tyler Street on the west end of the railroad tracks,” said Barbara Quinn, a twenty-year neighborhood resident and the current president of the neighborhood association. “This issue is going to need to be dealt with in a safe and humane way in order for the project to move forward.”

The camp consists of two regular tents, two makeshift tarp tents, a bunch of trash and a fleet of shopping carts. 

The homeless camp in Willamette Cove

Officer Jack Gillentine Jr., a police officer in the north precinct and a member of the Cathedral Park neighborhood response team, was in attendance at the meeting. He was well aware of the homeless camp and even knew some of the residents by name.

“These camps are definitely a problem for the Police Bureau, and honestly, we don’t have a permanent solution for it,” said Gillentine. “At that specific camp we do raids about every three months and remove all the residents.”

Unfortunately, the people apprehended during the raids are usually taken to jail and released within a short period of time. They then often return to that camp, or another, with more financial and legal problems then before.

Quinn noted, and all those in attendance agreed, that from a neighborhood standpoint they should approach the situation as humanely as possible.

“For the most part they [the homeless campers] haven’t caused any trouble at all,” she said. “We don’t want them to be treated as criminals, but would rather point them in the direction of an organization that could help them.”

Gillentine agreed that the homeless are rarely apprehended for any crimes other than trespassing.

“Typically these folks are only interested in finding cans and bottles to recycle,” he said. “They want their $1.40 to get their Steel Reserve [malt beverage].”

Although still to early for a permanent solution, Quinn pointed to an effort by the Lake Oswego-based Three Rivers Land Conservancy to remove a homeless camper from one of there preserves after persistent complaints of trash problems by local neighbors. Wanting their response to be “both compassionate and uphold their conservation values,” the nonprofit decided to team up with JOIN—a local nonprofit charged with helping homeless individuals and families transition into permanent housing—to provide resources to the campers.

This is similar to the approach taken by Portland Parks & Recreation when dealing with homeless campers on park property.

“It is a problem we deal with on a daily basis,” said Mark Warrington, public safety manager with PP&R. “We always try to be as constructive and helpful as possible with the ultimate goal of providing these people with a safer place to sleep.”

He continued, “We do this by consulting local advocacy groups (like JOIN) and making law enforcement and other government bodies aware of the situation.”

Other than just offering alternatives to jail, Quinn suggested discouraging future camping through better vegetation and strategic landscaping.

“I don’t think we need fencing or anything like that,” she said. “But to make this as optimal as possible we could use the surroundings to discourage camping.”

Gillentine agreed on this point, as well.

“Property owners are the best solution for keeping transients off a piece of land,” he said. “The ultimate solution is developing a vacant piece of land.”

Attendants of the neighborhood meeting also pointed to illegal dumping on the site as another possible roadblock in the project. A large number of full plastic garbage bags have accumulated over the years on the site, just south of the semi-permanent homeless encampment.

While only development of the site will solve the dumping problems for good, neighbors are urged to report illegal dumping to Metro’s Regional Illegal Dumping Patrol and local law enforcement when they first notice it. Metro can be reached by calling 503.234.3000.

The Willamette Cove restoration project will consist of improved access points, a paved multi-use trail system, a pedestrian/bicycle bridge, the replanting of native vegetation and massive landscaping improvements. Cost estimates for the trail system alone are currently projected at $876,110.

While the project may still be early in the planning stages, the homeless camping problem is only going to get worse until it is dealt with.

“I am in persistent contact with the homeless individuals in this area,” said officer Gillentine. “And I have visibly noticed a consistent increase in the number of transients since the economy started to go bad.” 

Those individuals interested in the Willamette Cove restoration project or the Willamette greenway project should visit Metro's web site.

Those individuals interested in learning more about homeless encampments, and how to deal with them, should visit JOIN. Or, call them at 503.232.2031.