EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — The destruction of a homeless camp behind along rail tracks behind a car repair shop in Eugene has highlighted the growing number of clashes between the area’s homeless population and city residents.
Car repair shop owner David Delong says the city of Eugene “passed the buck” on clearing the homeless camp.
That left the job to a hazardous-materials crew from Portland & Western Railroad to clear shrubbery along a fence that separated the camp from the tracks, damaging a number of temporary structures in the process.
The land is owned by a local nonprofit, whose spokesman says the group had no problem with the camp.
The Eugene Register-Guard reports (http://bit.ly/qGCgAc ) residents were aware a cleanup crew was coming, but didn’t know it would mean the end for their camp.