Springfield, OR Homelessness & Encampment Rules: Encampment Sanitation (2026)

Springfield Municipal Code Section 5.130, Prohibited Camping, added by Ordinance No. 6459 on June 5, 2023, separates where camping can never happen from how camping must be conducted in the narrow spots the city has not closed off. Subsection (3) bars camping entirely on city property unless the city manager designates a limited area, and bars it outright in residential zones (R-1, R-2, R-3), the downtown exception area defined in Development Code Section 6.1.100, riparian corridors, stormwater facilities, travel lanes, within 1,000 feet of an approved emergency shelter, closed streets, and any public park or multi-use path.

Subsection (4)'s Manner Regulations then govern the sanitation and safety conduct required wherever camping is not otherwise prohibited. Paragraph (b) forbids accumulating, discarding, or leaving behind garbage, debris, or hazardous materials of no apparent utility in the right-of-way, on city property, or on adjacent public or private property, the core sanitation duty behind cleanup enforcement. Paragraph (d) separately bans dumping gray water, defined as wastewater from baths and sinks, or black water, meaning sewage, into storm drains or any facility not built to receive it.

Other manner rules in the same subsection prohibit open flames and bonfires, unauthorized utility taps, erecting plywood or pallet structures, and storing tires, generators, or combustible materials. Enforcement under subsection (5) gives the city manager authority to modify or suspend enforcement during a declared emergency or for weather conditions, and to adopt administrative rules for consistent enforcement. All the offenses defined in subsections (1) through (4), including the sanitation duties, are punishable as violations carrying a fine of up to $720 under the city's general penalty schedule, SMC Section 1.205.