The Portland City Council’s Housing Committee is inviting the public to attend a housing forum May 25 on the Portland campus of the University of Southern Maine.
The community discussion, which will feature small discussion groups with facilitators, is designed to help committee members identify important housing issues. Over the past four months, the committee has received more than 135 ideas and recommendations concerning housing issues in Maine’s largest city.
A few of the ideas that have been brought to the committee’s attention include: rent control, a moratorium on no-cause evictions, hiring a tenant/landlord ombudsman to mediate disputes, increasing the notification period for proposed rent increases or non-renewal of leases, and passing an ordinance prohibiting new development projects from denying tenants access to low-income units based on a poor credit history. City spokeswoman Jessica Grondin said the forum will be held at USM’s Wishcamper Center, 34 Bedford St., from 5:30 to 8 p.m.
No decisions will be made at the forum, but information gathered at the discussion will be used by committee members at their June 8 meeting to develop a list of housing recommendations for more in-depth study by city staff.
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