Questions for the LO Police

Our Neighborhood Board sent two requests to Sargent Hall at the LOPD. He is the manager overseeing CSO (Community Service Officers) and other groups within LOPD. He reports to LO Police Chief Burke. In this blog post you'll see those requests and questions, along with what Sargent Hall shared when he called me on June 27th.

The first request from our Old Town Neighborhood Board was for more patrols, sent on June 17. Read that here.

The second request was questions for the LOPD

"Hello Sargent Hall.  These are the questions our neighbors have that we'd like your help with.  It would be ideal if you could respond in writing to answer these questions so that information could be posted to our neighborhood blog and you (and we) would have confidence that the answers are completely accurate vs. us trying to write up notes.  

We'd like to host you for a neighborhood "walk about" with a few neighbors.  Chief Burke did this with us after he was hired.  So did his predecessor.  Please share dates/times that would work for you to do this walk about.

Questions for the LO Police

From Lake Oswego Old Town Neighbors      June 19, 2025

These are questions neighbors would like clarification on from the Police.  If these could be answered in writing, that would be great and we’ll post to our neighborhood blog.  Most of these issues occur during the hot busy summer days and evenings.  

We’d like to know what’s legal?  What’s not?  What’s the process if it’s not legal?

Blocking Driveways

• Cars partially blocking driveways so residents cannot enter, park or exit their driveways.  Will these violations be ticketed?  

• Can residents paint the curbs next to their driveways to indicate no parking?

• What about people blocking driveways with their stand-up paddleboards as they inflate them?

Are these parking or driving violations?  Are warnings given or tickets?

• Cars parked in such a way that streets are impassable.

• Vehicles parked on clearly marked no parking areas, especially the corners.

• Drivers leaving GRP lower parking lot by making a right turn up the marked 1 ways section of Furnace Street up to Ladd.

• People parked facing the opposite direction of traffic.

• People parking in front of mailboxes and driveways. 

• People pulling into driveways to turn around or to wait to pick up or drop off someone or until a parking spot is available.  

• People creating traffic jams standing in the street while they blow up their inflatables.

People leaving vehicles on neighborhood streets

• We often have people park on the street who are not neighbors nor visiting residents.  We know to call the non-emergency number to report these vehicles after 72 hours.  Yet, when we report these and the police come out and mark the car, another 72 hours seems to start?  So it is really 6 days before a car or truck or other vehicle is ticketed?  And when would it be towed?

• How can we accelerate this process?  Taking photos of the vehicles with the license plate and noting when it was first parked so the 72 hours starts then? Security camera video? 

• Are the rules the same for cars?  Trucks?  RVs?  Buses?  Campers?  

Trash cans and littering

• People wanting a parking space so they move residents recycling and garbage cans on garbage pick-up days, after they are emptied but before residents can get to them.

• People putting trash in residents cans.

• People leaving trash in neighborhood.  Neighbors have found diapers left, cans, other food garbage.

Noise

• Gas blowers noise.  Is there some limit to how loud these can be?

• Noise from the electric pumps as people inflate their water inflatables in front of residents homes.

Verbal altercations

• Verbal altercations with neighbors

Nudity

• People undressing (nude) in their cars or on sidewalks to change into or out of swim gear.

Trespassing

• People picking flowers out of private gardens.

• People trespassing on private property.

Airbnb and VRBO rentals

• What are the City rules about these?  What happens if a property is not registered with the City?  How do we know if a property is or isn’t registered with the City?  How are violations handled?

Homeless/Houseless people

• The City clears the parks and sometimes these people wander into our neighborhood and onto neighbors property."

Neighbors also wondered how the warnings vs. ticketing process worked.

When Sargent Hall called me on June 27, he let me know the following:

He did receive the email and the printed/mailed copies of both emails we sent from the Board (1 to ask for more patrols and the 2nd with all the questions). 

Here's what he told me:

• It's a very busy time of year with people on vacation and all the summer and 4th of July activities.  I told him my favorite day of the year in LO is the 4th and he said his is July 5th!  He has a good sense of humor! 

• He called to let me know (and asked me to let all of you know) that he has received our requests and will be able to address our list of questions later in July.  He does want to come over for a walk about and meet whoever can join for that.  (No dates set yet; I'll reach out to him to schedule that in mid July)

• He reassured me that he has asked both his CSO (Community Service Officers) as well as the Park Rangers to make more patrols as we requested.  He said his CSO officers have 36 zones to patrol and he's out doing patrols himself since people are out on vacation.  

• About issuing tickets:

  • He said the park rangers are issuing tickets (not warnings) for people parking in the handicap spots at GRP.

  • He said he instructs his officers to balance safety, quality of life and visitors wanting to have a good time when giving warnings and tickets.  He explained that people given warnings are put into the system and should they have another offense, that should come up in the system and the person would then be ticketed.  

  • He asked for us to get the license plate of cars we recognize as repeat offenders and to let him/non-emergency know.  

• About our list of questions:

  • He will respond to those in writing (as we requested) after things calm down after the 4th.  

  • And he will come out to meet with us for a walk about