Portsmouth residents urge housing, shelter and services as council and mayor pause tent-ban ordinance

Residents and advocates used the Jan. 13 Portsmouth City Council meeting to press officials for expanded housing and shelter options and to report progress from a recent meeting with city leadership. Speakers urged that affordable and transitional housing, expanded emergency shelter capacity and harm-reduction measures remain priorities for the city.

Lori Swain of Poplar Street told council that recent extreme weather highlighted "a deficit of affordable housing, transitional housing, and emergency shelter space in Portsmouth" and urged the city to keep housing solutions "on the front burner." Gwen Mason, who identified herself as a non-Portsmouth resident who travels through the city frequently, said by personal observation there are "lots of spaces in Portsmouth that could be turned into transitional housing to emergency shelters," and she offered to help with planning and volunteer efforts.

Abby Spears, who said she had participated in a recent meeting with the city manager, the mayor, code enforcement and police, reported back to the chamber that the meeting was "meaningful and hopeful" and that the council had agreed not to move forward with changes to the city's tent ordinance at this time. "I do appreciate that we will not be moving forward with the changes to the ordinance," Spears said.

Mayor (name not specified) described three action items that came from stakeholder meetings: placing a dumpster at an agreed location to reduce trash at encampments, deploying sharps-disposal boxes in strategic locations to improve safety, and not proceeding with the proposed ordinance change. The mayor said the initiative was intended to produce immediate, practical steps while broader housing and service solutions are pursued.

Councilman Sean Dunn reviewed several housing policy tools and prior steps discussed by council, including an economic redevelopment program drafted in 2017, a receiver program used by other cities to address vacant properties, and the housing study recommendation to create a landlord registry by 2025; he encouraged continued dialogue and grant-seeking such as Community Development Block Grant funds targeted toward transitional housing.

Councilman Dennis Packard said a task force formed by community member Maggie Selby is addressing multiple workstreams including shelter and legal services and he said he had shared the task force materials with county commissioners. Several council members and the mayor thanked city service workers and emergency responders for snow and ice cleanup during recent storms; the mayor also told the chamber that volunteers and city staff had identified immediate measures to reduce harm while pursuing longer-term housing solutions.

No formal council action on new housing measures or shelter funding was taken at the Jan. 13 meeting; speakers and several council members emphasized continuing collaboration and applying for grants to support transitional and emergency housing.