In 2021, Portland City Council adopted the Shelter to Housing Continuum (S2H) project to address the crisis of houseless Portlanders. The code changes made it easier to site homeless shelters and created a new community service use in the code called “outdoor shelters,” which allowed certain shelters outright without first needing Council approval.
As the City launched the Safe Rest Villages initiative and the Joint City-County Office of Homeless Services continues to operate existing facilities and open others, several implementation issues arose as shelter operators sought to permit new outdoor shelters.
Several proposed code refinements that address these code barriers and unanticipated technical issues through the Shelter to Housing Continuum–Part 2 (S2H2C2) Proposed Draft. It is available for public review and comment, in advance of or with public testimony at the Tuesday, October 11 public hearing.
Starting at 12:30 pm, project staff will give the Planning and Sustainability Commission a briefing on the Draft. Immediately following the briefing, the meeting will be open to public hearing and testimony can be given in person or in writing.
Submit written testimony using the Map App tool (bit.ly/S2HC2MapApp) or by US Mail. To provide oral testimony, advance registration is required by Monday, October 10. Visit to register and for information on submitting written testimony by US Mail.