LEWISTON — City officials debated several changes to Lewiston’s shelter ordinance language Tuesday ahead of an effort to stand up a city-run, low-barrier shelter.

Amendments discussed during the first round of workshop talks included language around shelter guests carrying in alcohol and other substances, and the need for guests to have personal identification.

Opening a 24-hour, low-barrier shelter — one that won’t deny entry for reasons such as being under the influence, participation in religious services, or a lack of identification — would be a first for Lewiston.

In the lead up to seeking state and federal funding, the council has been considering a number of revisions to its licensing ordinance around shelters, and the committee tasked with overseeing the shelter development offered recommendations for the changes.

Craig Saddlemire, co-chair of the committee, outlined the recommendations Tuesday. Much of the discussion centered on the recommendation to strike language that would require potential shelter guests to present physical identification.

The committee said that current best practice, which is tied to grant funding requirements, is that many homeless people don’t have physical ID, and that requiring one is a barrier to entry, as well as to getting someone the help they need.

Rebecca Austin, executive director of Safe Voices, which runs a shelter and advocates for victims of domestic violence, said a large majority of people coming into the shelter are going to be known to the staff, who will likely have worked with them already in different capacities.

If the person is unknown to anyone, staff will still ask the person to identify themselves, or begin helping them obtain an ID, but will not deny them entry. Guest still need to register when they arrive, Saddlemire said.

“We’re trying to set a floor of what we’re requiring shelters to do. Then shelters can be more restrictive if they want,” Saddlemire said.

Most councilors agreed with striking the current language, but Councilor Eryn Soule-Leclair said she’s concerned it will create an “unsafe situation.” She said while staff might know most people, “it could just be one” that presents “too big of a risk.”

Other councilors, like Susan Longchamps, said she interacts with homeless people daily, and that “many of the folks who are in need of this service are just not going to have that ID.” She said some may obtain one and then lose it in a pair of pants or in something that’s stolen.

She said she has “full confidence” in Kaydenz Kitchen, the nonprofit that was recently selected to operate the shelter, to handle the issue.

Mayor Carl Sheline said that the policy around identification is in place in shelters across the state, and that Lewiston shouldn’t be an outlier.

Soule-Leclair argued that the state funding argument doesn’t “feel like it’s a great reason” to change the rules.

“We have a whole city to think of,” she said.

Much of the current language in the ordinance was overseen by the previous City Council, which did not support a low-barrier shelter and enacted a shelter moratorium while crafting the language.

A recommendation from the committee would also strike language that placed a 120-bed cap on the total number of shelter beds allowed in the city.

Due to time constraints, the council said it would schedule another workshop with the committee in October to continue the talks.