Grants Pass Mayor Sara Bristol plans to veto a recently-passed humanitarian services ordinance because she says it would add an unnecessary layer of bureaucracy and red tape in the city park system.
In a Tuesday news release, Mayor Bristol said she believes this ordinance is expedient, redundant and opens the door to potential litigation against the city.
Bristol wrote: "To be clear, I am strongly opposed to the use of drugs in our city parks. It is already illegal under Municipal Code to possess or deliver drugs, needles or other drug paraphernalia in city parks and public properties. It is already illegal to have propane tanks and kerosene tanks on public property. And it already regulates special events on public property, including established standards for denial and an appeals process, without singling out a specific type of use as the proposed ordinance does."
The mayor said if the Grants Pass City Council is serious about reducing the homeless presence in city parks, she suggests stopping the tactics of excessive regulation that only burdens law enforcement while starting to focus on actions that will provide shelter for unhoused people so city parks can be reclaimed.
The City of Grants Pass is currently under a federal court injunction that allows the unhoused population to "rest" in parks because the city lacks enough "low-barrier" shelters. The city has appealed the injunction to the US Supreme Court, which will hear oral arguments this spring and render a decision this summer.
