Eugene Mayor Kitty Piercy will not use her executive powers to declare the Whoville homeless camp legal.
Advocates had been asking the mayor to declare an emergency in order to legalize the encampment at West Broadway and Hilyard in Eugene. Instead, Piercy said in a statement issued late Friday, she will ask the Eugene City Council on Monday to extend the pilot “rest stop” program, clearing the path for a second site.
She acknowledged that this is just “triage,” and pledged that the city would continue to work to find solutions to the problems surrounding homelessness.
On Friday afternoon, the City of Eugene erected a chain linked fence around the Whoville site, but left two openings for residents to come and go.