Portland Scraps 1 Homeless Village Site Due to Flood Plain

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Portland city leaders who last week announced several sites where they plan to build villages for those experiencing homelessness now say one will be scrapped because it sits on a flood plain.

The lot is not far from the Springwater Corridor at the bottom of a large hill and next to wetlands at SE 45th and Harney.

The city admits no one checked to see if the lot was in a flood plain before publicly announcing it as a site for Safe Rest Villages, KGW-TV reported.

Portland City Commissioner Dan Ryan is in charge of the Safe Rest Villages project and announced them last week. He declined to talk to TV reporters Wednesday.

His office offered a written statement instead, stating the commissioner is disappointed and moving on with the project.

The villages are being touted as outdoor shelters where people experiencing homelessness can safely stay and receive services from showers to beds, bathrooms and mental health services.

Ryan, who oversees the city-side of the Joint Office of Homeless Services, emphasized last week that each village would be fenced with each individual possessing their own “sleeping pod.”

Ryan announced his plan for the villages this summer, which he said could be funded by about $16 million from the federal money the city received through the American Rescue Plan.

The two remaining new Safe Rest Village locations announced last week are noted with blue markers on the map below.