Bend officials announced Wednesday night that they will delay clearing a large encampment from the city’s northern outskirts.
The camp on Hunnell Road shelters roughly 100 people, and was going to be cleared on March 16.
But Bend City Manager Eric King and other city officials faced considerable pressure to back down because there aren’t enough approved shelters available elsewhere.
Related: What Bend’s anti-camping code means for people experiencing homelessness
On Wednesday, King said the removal will wait. He said two factors influenced the decision: A change in plans for upcoming road construction, and an agreement with Deschutes County this week to set up a managed camp for unhoused people.
That site will take two to three more months to prepare.
Earlier this week, the ACLU of Oregon and local advocates threatened the city could be sued over the city’s crackdown on camping.
A file photo of a camper parked on North Hunnel Road in Bend, Oregon on December, 28, 2022. The city of Bend on Wednesday said it's pausing plans to clear the campsite.
Joni Land / OPB