Parks and their parking lots off table for new homeless shelters
March 31 2021
The Portland City Council pares back homeless shelter options when approving Street to Shelter Continuum Project on Wednesday.
The City Council voted on a number of measures related to homelessness in Portland — including amending the city's proposed Shelter to Housing Continuum Project to explicitly prohibit outdoor shelters in natural areas, parks or park parking lots — on Wednesday, March 31.
The council's housing emergency declaration was also extended for another year.
The council voted to amend and approve the Shelter to Housing Continuum Project, which is intended to expand shelter and housing options throughout the city by changing zoning codes to allow for more managed homeless camps, among other things. This would allow organizations and nonprofits to provide hygiene services, trash collection and wrap-around social services.