Police say homeless cleanup a success - December 5, 2018
“The Astoria Police Department has called a sweep of homeless camps in the woods on the east end of town a success, but some have criticized how the city went about cleaning up the sites.”
“Before the sweep, Police Chief Geoff Spalding said any personal possessions recovered from campsites would be held at the police department for up to 30 days for people to claim. But nothing was saved…. it was difficult to distinguish between trash and personal possessions. Besides, Spalding said, the police department had nowhere to store possessions.”
“Annie Martin, president of the Astoria Warming Center board, noted the sweep happened well before the emergency shelter opened. Up to the day of the sweep, a number of homeless campers said they still didn’t know where they were going to go, while others simply moved deeper into the woods.”
Police delay plans to move homeless - November 26, 2018
“Officers had planned to begin clearing camps Tuesday after posting cleanup notices and talking to campers last week. But police have delayed the sweeps until Friday after two homeless people camping in the woods, claiming disabilities, sent notices to the city under the Fair Housing Act. They asked for more time to clean up their camps and find somewhere else to go, Police Chief Geoff Spalding told the City Council.”
Astoria delays ban on camping - October 2, 2018
“The City Council, at Mayor Arline LaMear’s request, decided to delay amending the rule [illegal camping] to give the mayor’s homelessness solutions task force time to talke about the issue.”