Lincoln County commissioners have fixed a hole in county ordinances to give law and code enforcement officials a way to help clear campers off county or any other public roads.
Until last week, sheriff’s deputies or county code enforcement officers could not cite people for camping on county roads or their right-of-ways. Commissioners voted unanimously Nov. 6 to allow campers to be cited.
The hole in the county’s ordinances was brought to light by a newly-formed enforcement committee made up of representatives of various county departments.
“There are ongoing problems, so this is just another tool for code enforcement,” county counsel Kristin Yuille told commissioners.
Public works director Mikal Diwan said there are numerous long-term campers in road right-of-ways and “this is an attempt to get to the source” of the problem.
Roadside camping can be hazardous to drivers and there are potentially trash and environmental issues.
“This doesn’t mean we’re going to go out and start citing someone that’s camping on the roadway,” Sheriff Curtis Landers told commissioners. “The whole goal of code enforcement is compliance. We want to address this as a compliance issue first, but this is another tool if we can’t get that.”
Landers said people wanting to report roadside campers should call the sheriff’s non-emergency dispatch number: 541-265-0777.
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