Tow trucks and police cars gathered along Necanicum Drive last Tuesday as the city prepared to clear the homeless camp at a city-owned lot between 10th and 11th avenues.

Liaisons from Clatsop Community Action delivered tents, sleeping bags and referrals for assistance.

“This is the first day that we are going to try and clear out a few of the vehicles that are remaining here,” Police Chief Dave Ham said. “We’re going to get it started. Hopefully, that will prompt a few others and they start making their moves on their own.”

The lot, previously used as a staging area for construction, became a temporary campsite last year after vthe city redirected overnight trailers off of the roadway.

But as the numbers of RVs and campers continued to grow, so did complaints.

Last fall, neighbors presented a petition with more than 100 signatures protesting the encampment and seeking its shutdown.

With a homeless camping ordinance that took effect in late May and a new site open for RVs and tents, the city now has enforcement authority. Overnight campers and RVs received hand-delivered notices 45 days and 30 days out and a 72-hour notice late last week, Ham said.

The homeless ordinance prohibits overnight camping at most locations throughout the city, including public parks, residential areas and city streets.

The City Council passed the ordinance in the hopes of responding to the growing numbers of homeless and federal and state court rulings and laws that require cities to offer alternatives for people without adequate shelter.

Campers must apply for an overnight camping permit, which enables camping from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. for three weeks, at which time the permit can be renewed.

Whether the new ordinance will provide options for the neediest remains to be seen, Seamus McVey, a homeless advocate and member of the Seaside Homeless Task Force, said.

“Most of the RVs in here are not insurable and that one factor alone will prevent them from even being able to utilize the park once it is opened,” he said.

McVey said the new Mill Ponds camping area fails to meet requirements for shelter specified in state and federal court decisions.

Dale McDowell, the city’s public works director, said belongings or vehicles left behind at the Necanicum lot will be held for 30 days before disposal.

The city’s overnight camping area off Alder Mill Avenue opened last Saturday night, he said, with about 10 tent campers.

Facilities include running water, portable restrooms and garbage collection. Gates open at about 7:30 p.m. and campers leave the lot by 8 a.m. Once everyone has moved out, police close the gates for the day.

Patricia Tewalt, who has lived in the Necanicum lot for a year, said she has found housing. But she worries what will happen to others, including a disabled neighbor.

“Not everybody here is a drug addict,” she said. “Not everybody here is crazy. Everybody has a different story, but nobody wants to hear it. Everybody just wants to judge the people that are here.”