Since Mayor Keith Wilson entered office in January with an ambitious plan to address the city’s homelessness crisis, Portland city councilors have generally allowed Wilson to begin rolling out his strategy without interference.

But now, with Wilson’s self-imposed deadline to open hundreds of new shelter beds fast approaching, they’re beginning to raise concerns. These worries bubbled over at a Tuesday meeting of the council’s Homelessness and Housing Committee.

“We have primarily been focusing on shelter, and I understand there’s an urgent need there,” said Councilor Angelita Morillo, addressing Wilson. “But then there’s long-term planning. We’re not really seeing that.”

Morillo and others pressed Wilson to explain perceived gaps in his plan, echoing concerns raised by homeless services providers, neighborhood associations and others.

Wilson’s mission is to create enough nighttime shelters to accommodate 1,500 people by December 1. As of now, he’s opened four of these shelters, with enough beds for roughly 400 people. Wilson’s proposal also introduces 90-day limits on how long someone can stay at any city-funded shelter that is open 24/7.

On Tuesday, councilors zeroed in on two pieces of the plan that Wilson hasn’t spent much time unpacking: creating enough housing options for people to move into once they enter a shelter and enforcing the city’s camping ban for people who refuse to move into shelter.

In a presentation before councilors, Wilson explained how his goal is to “rapidly” move people who stay in overnight shelters into permanent housing.

“The key point is we never ever exit somebody [from a shelter] to the street again,” Wilson said.

Morillo said she supports this goal, but believes it is unrealistic. She pointed to the Oregon Legislature’s recent decision to cut eviction prevention programs statewide by $100 million, and other looming funding cuts from the federal government. In June, councilors also voted down Morillo’s proposal to add funding for eviction defense in the city’s budget.

“There actually aren’t the resources for the types of things that they need right now because we chose not to fund them, we chose to fund shelters,” she said. “So when you say we’re gonna rapidly rehouse people within those 90 days, I don’t know how that practically happens.”

Wilson said he’s talking with nonprofit housing providers and private companies about the need for more affordable housing units in Portland. He also pointed to the work his office has done to pay to send people experiencing homelessness in Portland to live with their families elsewhere.

Morillo, who previously experienced homelessness, questioned that strategy. She noted that many youth living on the streets are there because their families kicked them out of their homes.

“It’s something that you talk about a lot because it feels really good and it’s a nice media story,” she said. “That is not going to address all of the issues for folks who don’t have a good family to go back to.”

Councilor Eric Zimmerman represents District 4, which includes a few Northwest Portland neighborhoods that have organized to oppose one of Wilson’s proposed overnight shelters. Zimmerman said that, in order to do his job, he needs clarity from Wilson that the city will enforce its camping ban in the neighborhood.

“I’m wondering when we’re gonna see what enforcement looks like,” said Zimmerman. “I need your help to be able to convey that to my district.”

Portland adopted a ban on people camping on public property last year. But, per that policy, it can only be enforced when the city has enough shelter beds available to accommodate its entire unsheltered population.

According to Multnomah County, there are roughly 7,000 people currently living unsheltered in the county. The county and city jointly operate shelters with around 2,500 shelter beds total (and the majority of those are occupied on a given night). Wilson’s 1,500-bed goal will still fall short of meeting the regional need.

This policy isn’t entirely beholden to shelter capacity. The city ordinance also limits what people can do when camping on city property. Those who violate those rules could face fines or jail time. According to Wilson, that policy hasn’t been enforced since February. He said that the policy should be used sparingly, and not in a “draconian” way.

“I’m not a law and order guy, because those are my neighbors, right?” Wilson said. “So I’m going to provide care and concern for those first with access to services so we can help people.”

Wilson added that he needs to make sure he has enough shelter beds open before rolling out any penalties, “so officers and outreach workers know that they’re doing a dignified, decent thing.” Instead of directly saying he’d enforce criminal penalties against unsheltered people at this point, he said he would “reestablish community standards on public safety.”

That wasn’t enough for Zimmerman.

“Enforcement is not draconian, it is part of the negotiating tactic,” he said. “Your plan – sometimes there’s some good storytelling, but there also has to be some tough truths at the end of that.”

Not all councilors on the five-person committee raised concerns Tuesday. Councilor Dan Ryan sympathized with Wilson.

“Portland elected you with a mandate to take bold action on this issue,” Ryan said, nodding to Wilson’s campaign pledge to end unsheltered homelessness. “I know what it’s like to do difficult things that the community wants, and yet the system that got us here is not always willing. I will continue to support you.”

Wilson took the feedback with a smile. He said he’s certain his plan won’t meet everyone’s expectations.

“This is not something that’s perfectly phased or planned,” Wilson told councilors. “We have to try.”

News Source : https://www.opb.org/article/2025/08/12/portland-city-councilors-raise-concerns-mayor-wilson-homelessness-plan/