Portland homeowner faces challenging process of addressing homeless camp in his backyard

High above Portland on the city's northwest side, Jim Jensvold was surprised by what was discovered in his forested yard below.

“The guy that does the tree trimming came out and he said 'I think you've got an uninvited guest on your property,'" Jensvold said.

A homeless camper was set up for the long haul in his private backyard.

He figured a simple conversation would do the trick.

“I said, ‘you know this is private property’ and she says ‘oh, I thought it was public.’ I said, ‘no - so you'll be able to leave, right?’ She said, ‘oh yes,’" said Jensvold.

When Jensvold and his wife returned from an out of town trip, they assumed she'd be gone.

“The encampment had grown. There was a tent, tarps, altars and shrines - and all sorts of things down there,” he said.

But Jensvold had no idea how long it would take and the hoops he'd need to jump through to get the camper out.

In all, he called police three separate times. He says the first officer gave the woman time to leave, which he later learned from another officer was a mistake.

“If you give them even an hour or so to leave, that's interpreted as giving them permission to stay at least for a little while. So that changes the problem from a law enforcement criminal problem to a civil problem,” Jensvold said.

Jensvold's problem was growing by the day. At one point the camper set a fire. Firefighters were called to put it out.

His neighbors had had enough.

“My neighbors were knocking on my door, saying ‘what are you gonna do about your problem that's threatening all of us?’ Because they were concerned about the fire - my house could burn down - my neighbors houses could burn down too - it could spread - it's not that far to forest park actually,” he said.

After the third call to police the camper left, leaving behind her belongings.

Jensvold is left to clean it up, find a place for some of it, and sort through an experience he won't forget.

He worries that now that the city is cracking down on public camping, that more campers will move to private property.

The maze of information on city websites - and even conflicting information from police - about what to do about a homeless camper in your backyard confused him.

“I don't think there's a clear plan on that, because you would think with the homeless situation in Portland, that this cannot possibly be the first time this has happened,” Jensvold said.

He did receive a call from Mayor Ted Wheeler's Office of Community Safety, and they answered some of his questions.

KATU reached out to the city too, asking what does someone do if they have a homeless camper on their property?

They told us, in part, "we do not anticipate for folks to move to private properties, but if this does occur, property owners should contact law enforcement immediately. Private property owners have trespass authorizations with the Portland Police Bureau. Unsanctioned campers on private property can be removed immediately without going through the posting process required on city-owned property."

Jensvold learned from officers who answered his call that next time he would have the camper removed immediately.

“You also should have no trespassing signs on private property. And he also made mention that it'd be better if they were illuminated, so they could be seen at night - which I thought - I don't think I'm gonna run an electrical line down there," he said.

Looking back, he did everything he was supposed to do - call police and the City of Portland. And while he appreciates their advice, he can't help but come to this conclusion:

“I think it was actually me solving the problem myself,” Jensvold said.
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