PORTLAND, Maine (AP) - Officials in Maine’s largest city have dropped plans to build a new homeless shelter near a city-owned nursing home that sparked heavy opposition from nearby residents.
The Portland Press Herald reports Portland City Manager Jon Jennings said Tuesday the city no longer believes the Barron Center campus is appropriate for a 150-bed shelter and soup kitchen.
The plan received much pushback from residents who said the shelter could bring violence and drug use to the area.
The City Council’s Health and Human Services and Public Safety unanimously endorsed building a shelter after Jennings’ announcement Tuesday. They also supported building smaller facilities for women and the mentally ill.
City officials have yet to identify other potential sites.
The new shelter would replace the aging Oxford Street Shelter in Bayside.
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Information from: Portland Press Herald, http://www.pressherald.com
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