LEWISTON — City officials appear closer to finalizing an ordinance regulating needle exchange programs in Lewiston, which will likely restrict how many clean syringes the organizations are allowed to give out.

During a City Council workshop Tuesday, councilors were polled on several pieces of the proposed ordinance, including where syringe service providers are allowed to operate, how many can be in operation at once, and whether mobile exchanges should be allowed.

A majority of councilors appeared to support requiring the city’s two syringe service providers to shift to a 1-to-1 model, which has been opposed by both state public health officials and advocates of a harm reduction model for people struggling with substance use disorder.

The city ordinance, drafted in response to community concern over improperly discarded needles, has since sparked a larger debate over the role of syringe service providers in Lewiston, and whether regulating them locally could improve the atmosphere for downtown businesses.

Last month, the council delayed a first reading on the ordinance following intense debate between officials, service providers, recovery advocates and business owners about whether needle exchange programs should be regulated locally.

Some downtown business owners told officials there is an undeniable “correlation” between the operation of the Church of Safe Injection on Main Street, and troubling behaviors and conditions for businesses to handle.

A 2022 change moved away from a 1-to-1 needle exchange to a more needs-based model, under which programs can give out as many as 100 clean needles at a time. Public health officials say evidence shows that a 1-to-1 model is more likely to result in reusing of needles that can spread blood-borne diseases such as hepatitis C and HIV.

In early June, state officials asked Lewiston to work with them on the ordinance language, and appeared especially concerned with the 1-to-1 language, arguing that the current model is working to limit fatal overdoses.

The council is still split on the 1-to-1 model, but appeared to have a 4-3 majority Tuesday, with Councilor Josh Nagine, who has previously opposed a 1-to-1 requirement, changing his tone.

He said the issue of needle litter has created a “secondary public health crisis” and the only tool available to city officials is requiring a 1-to-1 exchange.

Nagine and at least one other councilor said they would be willing to support language that allows needle exchanges to hand out more depending on how many they take in, but it’s unclear how such ordinance language would work.

Jon Connor, director of planning and code enforcement, said based on discussions with Spurwink, which is also a syringe service provider, the city could allow handing out as many as 20 to a new client, and require a 1-to-1 exchange from there.

Several councilors agreed with that proposal. But others, like Scott Harriman, said they don’t agree with creating municipal oversight for a public health issue.

“I’m not seeing any clinical reasoning for a one-to-one,” he said.

When Councilor Eryn Soule-Leclair said the 1-to-1 will result in less litter, Harriman responded that there is “no connection between a one-to-one ratio and litter.”

“I don’t think we’re going to create a very good ordinance if we’re going to ignore all best practices,” he said.

A similar split on the council existed for the zoning elements and number of service providers that should be permitted.

The proposed zoning elements would make Church of Safe Injection on Main Street nonconforming with the ordinance, meaning it would have to be grandfathered, or given time to relocate.

The zoning language as a whole will be reviewed by the Planning Board in the coming weeks.

Councilors debated whether the city should limit the total number of service providers, with some arguing there should not be a cap, and others wanting to see a cap of just one.

Other language that could be considered would require syringe service providers to give the city the same annual reports that are sent to the state.