Published April 9, 2021 at 10:05 AM PDT
April Ehrlich/JPR
A temporary camp set up in Hawthorne Park in Medford after the Almeda Drive Fire.
Just a short drive up Interstate Five through Medford yields a view of a large number of unofficial campgrounds and tents.
And the Medford City Council recently decided to crack down. The council met in special session to pass
an ordinance banning camping along the Bear Creek Greenway during fire season, but the ordinance goes much further, laying down a number of additional restrictions on where people can sleep or otherwise spend the night, including under bridges. And tents are prohibited; tent campers could be charged with a misdemeanor.