YAMHILL COUNTY COMISSIONERS WORKING ON “SQUATTERS” ISSUES
Yamhill County Commissioners, lead by chairperson Mary Starett are promising to do something about the “squatter” issue plauging some areas of the county. The most recent incident is near Carlton on Hendricks Road, the site of a recent fire of undetermined origin that destroyed an abandoned barn.
Many in the area are concerned with the debris piling up on some abandoned properties and have fired off emails to county commissioners demanding they do something about it.
Commissioner Starett says in many respects the county’s hands are tied. Due to a loophole in the state’s tenants rights laws, as soon as persons set up camp on an abandoned property, they are covered by many of the rights as a legal tenant.
Starett says the county sheriff is working with other sheriffs in the state to find a solution. State Representative Ron Noble is also working legislatively to give local jurisdictions more legal recourse to go in and correct situations regarding people referred to as “squatters”. People showing up and living on a property without a legal agreement to be there.
Starett says she know it is a concern and the county is working hard on finding a legal solution.
