ESTACADA, Ore. – After years of complaints from residents of a small Oregon town and now a judge's order, a 69-year-old woman who let as many as 30 down-on-their-luck people at a time stay in various shed-like outbuildings on her property has given up her struggle with the city and turned out most of the inhabitants.
The Oregonian reports Ethel "Punki" McNamee faced a $10,000 fine if she didn't clear the structures.
A handful of the people who stayed on her property have temporarily moved into McNamee's house while they seek permanent housing.
On Wednesday, 48-year-old Matthew Smith came to McNamee looking for a place to stay but was turned away. He hoped for a spot at the area referred to as "Punki's Place," but will likely have to keep asking friends for help.
"I'm just an old dog," he said. "I have nowhere to go."
On April 4, Municipal Judge Maryann Meaney gave McNamee 30 days to force residents out of the accessory structures, which were mostly empty by the trial.
"I echo the concern of the community and the City Council," Meaney said. "People shouldn't be living in some of these structures."
Like most small cities and rural areas of Oregon, Estacada has no emergency shelter. Homeless people might wait years for an opening.
By contrast, at Dignity Village -- a city-recognized encampment near the Portland International Airport -- it can take more than six months to move through the queue for a 10-foot-by-12-foot structure similar to those in McNamee's yard.
Earlier this year, 80 Estacada residents signed a petition to force McNamee's renters off her property, complaining about noise, police presence and proximity to Clackamas River Elementary.
McNamee said that while she's sad to have to end her open-door policy, she plans to comply with the city's decision and keep her operation legal.
"These people deserve to live better, and there's better places out there for them," Mayor Becky Arnold said. "When they're enabled to live there like that, they ultimately end up hurting themselves."
