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The Portland City Council has rejected a measure that would have temporarily allowed unhoused people to camp on certain parcels of public property and prohibited the clearing of tent encampments.
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Instead, the Waterville City Council approved a plan that would train volunteers to open up a temporary emergency shelter for winter storms. The city also wants to expand hours at the soup kitchen and eventually secure more funds for a permanent emergency shelter and a recovery center.
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The proposal comes at a time when the city is under pressure to find solutions to address Portland's growing unhoused population.
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The Harbor View Memorial Park under Casco Bay Bridge on Commercial Street has become the latest gathering spot for unhoused residents in Portland. The city is making plans to begin outreach efforts there, and said that it could be cleared by the end of the month.
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The encampment has more than 100 tents and has grown since May after three other sites in Portland were cleared over the summer and fall.
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Residents of a homeless encampment in Bangor along with advocacy groups have been critical of a city plan to remove some individuals from the tent community.
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It's not clear exactly how many people will be asked to leave the site, and outreach workers said Thursday that there's confusion about who specifically will be removed.
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The city would buy 10 all-season canvas tents and place them around the Head of Falls trail where about 40 people have been living.
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It was the second time the council has voted on the measure, which would have declared a temporary state of emergency and added 50 more beds to the shelter.
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The original measure would have declared a temporary state of emergency at the Portland shelter so that 50 additional beds could be added to the space ahead of the colder weather.