The Old Town/Chinatown Neighborhood Association received an interesting response from Commissioner Dan Saltzman's office when it asked about Portland's "other occupation," the tent shelter community that's sprung up beneath the Chinatown gate at NW Fourth and Burnside, the Mercury has learned.

Here it is: Help us get the thing shut down by regularly tracking and reporting suspected code violations.

It is also important in situations like this that good documentation of alleged code violations is made so a strong record is in place when enforcement actions take place. And if and when those actions are challenged by the property owner. To that end, we encourage folks to utilize the Bureau of Development Services online reporting form to make those complaints and to forward that documentation. Pictures help immensely and the reporting form has an easy way of attaching pictures. Here is a link.http://www.portlandonline.com/bds/index.cfm?c=42240

Thank you again for your interest and don't hesitate to contact me directly for more information. And also thank you for your continued patience and efforts to make Portland a great city.

The neighbors are planning a meeting on the tent village at 11:30 am October 26 at Central City Concern. They received that advice after reaching out to Saltzman's office—which runs the Bureau of Development Services—with concerns. They also received a copy of the letter Saltzman's office sent to the owners of the camp's lot.

The neighbors, at least, seem to be keeping an open mind. Writes Howard Weiner, association president, in a message to the group: "My hope is that we can have an honest dialogue and get a better understanding of the issues facing these folks."