PORTLAND, Maine — The Portland City Council struck down a proposal Monday night to allow camping in certain public areas of the city.
City councilors voted 6 to 3, rejecting Order 68, which would have temporarily allowed camping on certain public property until April 30. It did not include downtown streets or sidewalks, playgrounds, City Hall Plaza, Monument Square, and within 250 feet of schools.
The vote was met with concerns for unhoused individuals across multiple encampments throughout the city as colder weather descends upon the state. Multiple rallies were held before the city council meeting Monday night debating the order's passage and how it may affect those living in the city's encampments and the Portland community as a whole.
According to a Nov. 15 memo issued by the city, the projected fiscal impact of the policy would have cost $1,226,518 in city-related services. As of Monday night, 230 tents were reported throughout the city.
"I subscribe to the idea that they are unsafe from a public health perspective and public safety. Not just for externalities, but I'm concerned about the people who are exploited every day," newly elected mayor Mark Dion said.
"The intent is to allow people to remain where they are, without separating them from life-sustaining belongings, community, and service providers during the winter months, when it's most difficult for unhoused residents to survive in the cold. It is a basic offer of humanity to those members of our community who have suffered every disadvantage," Portland city councilor Anna Trevorrow said.
A shelter for asylum seekers is set to open later this month. The move will free up 120 beds at the city's Homeless Services Center in addition to the 50 beds city councilors voted to add to the facility last week.
"Our unhoused neighbors are not an eyesore. They deserve your respect and your attention. They are not a problem to be solved, they are an opportunity for this city to get its priorities straight," one of the speakers in favor of order 68 said.
"We are afraid to come into town, we are afraid to leave our houses, especially those of us like me who are elderly. And some people say, 'Well, it's just fearmongering.' Well, what do you think when your husband is stopped in traffic, and a homeless person tries to open his car door to enter his car? How are we supposed to feel safe?" said a Portland resident who showed up to the public comment portion on Monday night.
Next, city councilors will find a date to clear the unhoused encampment near Harbor View Memorial Park and the Encampment Crisis Response Team will work towards getting residents to accept shelter beds. Four other large encampment sweeps have been conducted so far this year.