PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – Portland’s camping ban could go back to the drawing board less than a year after it passed the City Council.

The ordinance to ban daytime camping was initially slated to go into effect in July 2023, but stalled after the Oregon Law Center sued the city in September on behalf of thousands of homeless residents – prompting a Multnomah County judge to issue an injunction in November that paused any enforcement until the end of the lawsuit.

Homeless advocates say they are not surprised to see these legal setbacks while Multnomah County only has about 2,000 shelter beds and an estimated 8,000 homeless residents.

Dr. Sandra Comstock, the executive director of Hygiene4All said, “They are basically saying that it’s a criminal act simply to exist as a houseless person.”

The City Attorney’s Office confirmed Thursday that an Oregon Supreme Court judge declined its request for legal guidance on the injunction, refusing to weigh in.

“While we had hoped to get some guidance from a court in the form of an opinion on the city’s time, place, and manner regulations, the city now must move forward without a judicial opinion,” City Attorney Robert Taylor wrote to the council.

Taylor went on to recommend city leaders contemplate repealing the passed ordinance to “replace it with something we believe may be more likely to survive a [legal] challenge.”

Comstock said it’s “because it’s a violation of people’s basic rights to exist in public space,” adding that “it’s a civil rights issue, plain and simple.”

Both the city attorney and Mayor Ted Wheeler declined interview requests from KOIN 6. In response to the judge’s ruling, the mayor’s office wrote the following statement:

“Mayor Wheeler firmly believes that the status quo is not working. The City learned about the order this morning and is disappointed in the lack of judicial guidance from the court. We are exploring numerous potential pathways forward and will follow up as plans further develop.”