Portland Voters Will Decide Whether To Limit Homeless Shelters Size This November

A citizen initiative to limit the number of beds in new homeless shelters in Portland will be on the ballot in November. The referendum, which intends to curb the construction of a 200-bed shelter in Riverton, would limit the size of new shelters to 50 beds, according to the Portland Press Herald. Smaller Shelters for Portland, the organization advocating for the policy, told the newspaper it submitted its proposal last week, and city officials told the group that it met the 1,500-signature minimum to get on the ballot. “I hope that the city does not approve the second letter of agreement with the developer until after the people have had their say,” Stephanie Neuts, one of the group’s organizers, told the Press Herald.