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The Portland Design Commission delayed making a decision Thursday on an appeal of a controversial homeless shelter proposed for the Pearl District.

The commission will reconvene on June 27 after considering recent testimony and evidence, commissioners said. The record will remain closed until then, meaning no additional new evidence will be accepted.

The proposal comes from Oregon Harbor of Hope, a nonprofit founded by developer Homer Williams and others to provide homeless services in Portland. The group has already erected a tent on a vacant lot just north of the Broadway Bridge on Northwest Naito Parkway. The structure would host a shelter and services for homeless individuals who would stay for three to four months. Transition Projects would manage the shelter.

Commissioners struggled with the temporary nature of Oregon Harbor of Hope’s Navigation Center, and whether to apply design standards meant for permanent buildings.

Pearl District resident Kurt Sorensen filed an appeal objecting to city staff approval of the structure. He wrote in the appeal that the shelter did not qualify as a 鈥渕ass shelter鈥� under Portland code and didn’t satisfy other design guidelines such as unifying design elements, and reinforcing the identity of the Pearl District neighborhood and the waterfront area.

鈥淚t isn’t the use; it’s the building,鈥� Sorensen said. 鈥淚f somebody wanted to put a restaurant in that structure, you wouldn’t approve it. You should apply the same standard.鈥�

The Design Commission’s decision could ultimately come down to whether commissioners apply design guidelines to the tent, or make an exception because of its temporary nature.

Harbor of Hope’s lease with Prosper Portland, the public agency which owns the property, is scheduled to terminate Dec. 31, 2023, and the shelter is not expected to be in use past that date, said Tom Kemper, a real estate professional who is acting as project manager and developer’s representative.

That poses a quandary for design guidelines requiring 鈥渜uality and permanence鈥� that borders on the metaphysical: What does it mean to be permanent?

Chairwoman Julie Livingston tried a novel approach, suggesting the tent could meet quality and permanence standards if the materials are intended to last until the 2023 termination of the deal.

鈥淔or a five-year structure, this is a relatively well-designed structure,鈥� she said.

Livingston added that the guidelines do not state what permanence means.

鈥淭here is nothing in the guidelines that places a timeline on permanence,鈥� she said.

Commissioner Andrew Clarke pushed back at that line of reasoning, saying he was unwilling to bend guidelines to 鈥渇it a narrative.鈥�

鈥淧ermanence to me is permanent,鈥� Clarke said. 鈥淚t’s there for a long time.鈥�

The Design Commission may be the wrong group to decide the Navigation Center’s future, Commissioner Sam Rodriguez said.

鈥淔rankly, I think it should be before City Council,鈥� he said.

The tent did not meet design guidelines and would not be approved without a condition of approval mandating it be temporary, Rodriguez said.

An appeal of the Design Commission’s eventual decision would go to the state Land Use Board of Appeals, meaning the question could be settled in Salem.

Tiffany Sweitzer of Hoyt Street Properties testified against the tent, saying the proposal should be held to the same standards as other developments. Developer Jim Winkler also testified, saying the proposed tent is 鈥渟imply not good enough.鈥�

Iain MacKenzie, an architect and blogger, was among the supporters to testify. He pointed to precedents for temporary structures in Portland, including at Portland State University and The International School.