Overnight camping ban considered for Brookings beaches

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — The Oregon Parks and Recreation Department will consider banning overnight camping on Brookings beaches in the coming months after residents in the Mill Beach area filed a petition stating that drug users have turned the coast into a “bedlam of nefarious activity.”

In the petition, residents argue that the overnight camping presents risks to public health and safety and impacts the marine ecosystem. If passed, Brookings would join the cities of Seaside, Cannon Beach, Manzanita, Rockaway Beach, Lincoln City, Newport, Bandon, Gold Beach and Clatsop and Tillamook counties in banning overnight beach camping.

“Camping on Mill Beach has caused a demonstrable harm to public health, safety, and welfare, which will be alleviated by the proposed amendment,” the petitions states. “Foreseeable risks and hazards can only be alleviated by a camping prohibition on Mill Beach.”

In the petition, residents mention a lack of public restrooms as a reason to ban overnight camping in the area. Although public restrooms do exist at Mill Beach, the City of Brookings closed the bathrooms six years ago due to drug use and plumbing issues.

“With the closure of the city’s necessary sanitary, restroom, and washing facilities bordering Mill Beach for the better part of the past decade, camping on Mill Beach creates a public health hazard,” the petition states. “Campers have no choice but to urinate and defecate on Mill Beach.”

Oregon Parks and Recreation is accepting comments on the proposed change until Oct. 15 at 5 p.m. People can provide feedback on the proposed overnight camping ban online or by emailing OPRD.Publiccomment@oprd.oregon.gov. Citizens can also attend a public hearing on the issue, which is scheduled to be held at Southwestern Oregon Community College in Brookings on Oct. 9.

Following the public comment portion of the process, Oregon State Parks and Recreation Commission will consider approving the ban at an upcoming meeting in the fall or winter. If passed, the change would not affect existing campgrounds with designated camping areas.

In March, a judge ruled that the City of Brookings violated the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act when it unanimously passed an ordinance in October of 2021, which attempted to limit the number of days churches could feed the homeless.