Nearby residents say camping at Mill Beach has led to health and safety issues. | Image courtesy of Oregon.gov

A Brookings condominium association is behind a proposed rule change that would prohibit oceanside camping within city limits.

In its petition to the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department, the Macklyn Cove Condominium Association states that campers “have no choice but to urinate and defecate on Mill Beach” since the city closed the public restroom about six years ago.

The city has since shut off access to the restrooms using a gate and bolted chains, according to the petition. The petition states this was in response to drug paraphernalia and trash being flushed down the toilets and clogging the plumbing.

The petitioners also cite the accumulation of rotting food, broken bottles, crushed cans buried in sand and “putrid refuse which expose beachgoers to illness, infestations and stench.”

As a result of that petition, the department is seeking public comment on a proposal to add Brookings to a list of Oregon cities where overnight camping along the ocean shore is prohibited.

The Oregon Parks and Recreation Department is considering banning oceanside camping within Brookings city limits. | Map courtesy of OPRD

Public comment on the proposed rule change will be accepted through 5 p.m. Oct. 15 and a public hearing is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. October. 9 at Southwestern Oregon Community College’s Brookings campus at 96082 Lone Ranch Parkway.

Once the public comment period ends, the department will consider the rule change at a meeting this fall or winter, according to a news release Tuesday.

According to the condominium association’s petition, the City of Brookings owns the parking lot and Macklyn Cove Drive, which provides public access to the beach.

The condominium sits at the end of Macklyn Cove Drive.
The public easement is controlled and regulated by the Oregon Parks and Recreation Commission, according to the petition.

“Petitioners are aware of no other beaches along the Oregon Coast in Curry County that claim to allow camping,” the Macklyn Cove Condominium Association states. “The nearby Harris Beach State Park does not allow camping on the beach. Harris Beach State Park has an adjacent camping ground with sanitary facilities, including toilets, handwashing and trash disposal, and charges a fee to camp. Chetco Point, a Brookings City Park abutting the Oregon Coast nearby, is closed from one-half hour after sunset until one-half hour before sunrise… .”

Brookings Police Chief Kelby McCrae said that law enforcement on all Oregon beaches is handled by Oregon State Police. The city's jurisdiction begins at the vegetation line, he said.

According to the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department, oceanside camping is prohibited within the city limits of Gold Beach, Bandon, Newport, Lincoln City, Rockaway Beach, Manzanita, Cannon Beach and Seaside. Camping is also prohibited along the ocean in Clatsop and Tillamook counties.

To submit a comment, email OPRD.Publiccomment@oprd.oregon.gov.

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