DESPITE LAST WEEK’S 11th-hour snag in legal wrangling—and new protests from a handful of surprised Pearl District neighbors—a city-brokered deal to move Old Town’s homeless rest area, Right 2 Dream Too, could emerge as soon as this week, sources tell the Mercury.
The Mercury reported on the outlines of that deal, pushed by Commissioner Amanda Fritz, last week [“Under the Bridge?” News, Aug 28].
Right 2 Dream Too would move from NW 4th and Burnside to a portion of a parking lot beneath the Broadway Bridge’s Lovejoy ramp. A lawsuit filed against the city by the group and its current landlords would be dropped. And more than $20,000 in code enforcement fines—the city declared the site an illegal “recreational” campground soon after it opened in October 2011—would be waived.
“Progress is being made,” Fritz told the Mercury late Friday, August 30, in what she termed an “official statement” flowing from a meeting between her office, the city attorney’s office, Right 2 Dream Too’s board members, and Mark Kramer, the attorney representing both Right 2 Dream Too and its current landlords.
“We hope to have a settlement agreement next week,” she said.
Another source close to the talks told the Mercury early Tuesday, September 3, that a deal could be in place as soon as that day or the next. No deal was in place as of press time.
Because the Portland Development Commission controls the new site, the proposed deal also needs Mayor Charlie Hales’ approval. Hales’ spokesman, Dana Haynes, said the mayor supports a relocation deal but hadn’t been briefed as of press time.
“He’s anxious to find out how it’s gone,” says Haynes.
Of course, this also wouldn’t be the first time hopes were high—only to fade away.
The tentative agreement nearly fell apart last Tuesday, August 27, after the site’s current landlord, Michael Wright, balked at the city’s insistence he agree not to host another group of homeless campers.
Kramer said Wright wanted the city to remain “silent” on what he can or can’t do with his property—with the understanding that if Wright did try hosting more campers, the city could come back with code inspectors and levy more fines and start the legal process all over again.
That “silence” was one of three options Kramer presented the city. Wright had asked the city to consider buying his land. He also sought permission to install a food cart pod.
Fritz said she was willing to strip language banning camping from the agreement, while still insisting that whatever came next would comply with current city codes, rules, and laws. The city’s view was that language would still rule out knowingly hosting campers or food carts on the lot. The deal went sideways when Wright realized that his interpretation of that clause was different from the city’s.
It was unclear as of press time how the two sides resolved that impasse. The city and Fritz would clearly be loath to see another rest area spring up on Wright’s vacant land after the expense and political effort involved in moving Right 2 Dream Too. But a deal also couldn’t go through without Wright’s buy-in. He’s a co-plaintiff in the lawsuit against the city and organizers have agreed to hold him harmless for any code fines that have accrued. The city won’t waive those fines if it can’t agree with Wright on the future of his current land.
The proposed deal has been giving Fritz mild heartburn for another reason. The Pearl District Neighborhood Association, outraged by the closed-door talks surrounding the plan and concerns about legal camping, began a letter-writing campaign last week accusing the city of violating “our trust and its own integrity.”
The city is allowed, under law, two “transitional housing” campgrounds. Right 2 Dream Too would join Dignity Village on that list.
Some neighbors lashed out directly at Fritz, suggesting they’d work against her re-election in 2016. Fritz, in a letter back to one of those neighbors, obtained by the Mercury, reminded foes that Right 2 Dream Too has been a model neighbor in Old Town. She also reminded them about her promise last year not to seek office again.
“I’m not running for anything ever again, just so you know,” she wrote. “I act to do what I believe is right and in the long-term public good, which is not always what is popular with voters.”
I live near the proposed relocation site and like my neighbors believe it’s an ill-advised arrangement. The Lovejoy cul de sac is a main pedestrian travel corridor that has always attracted trouble associated with drinking, drug use and camping. The view-blocking hedges was a stupid choice for landscaping. Many people walk in the street instead of on the sidewalk to avoid close interaction with transients, many with bad tempers. The benches along the sidewalk should be removed and the hedges replaced with ground cover. The streetcar passing above is amplified into an earth-shaking high-decibel rumbling below that will disturb the peace and rest that homeless people need. The space below the Lovejoy ramp and Broadway Bridge is dank, dirty and dismal. If the city can’t find a more suitable site to relocate Right2Dream too, they’re either not looking or they are looking for sites that are more punitive than protective.
To respond to your concerns Art Lewallan, you may find that the area surrounding this cul de sac becomes much more safe and comfortable if R2Dtoo relocates there. Right 2 Dream Too has 24 hour security. In the current location, Dreamers have been approached by housed people who were needing safety – you know, women fleeing harassment from some guy at the bar, and the like. Housed and unhoused people in the neighborhood have come to know R2Dtoo as a safe place, and I believe you will too.
There are people without housing currently camping below that bridge, as you have mentioned. Right 2 Dream Too is a community with a code of conduct, and the experience and to talk to other houseless people about respecting the perimeters of their community.
The Dreamers have heard the street car rumble above the bridge. That noise stops long before the mayhem at the bars surrounding the current location. Some people find such rumbling preferable, even relaxing, compared to drunk people screaming and loud music. Bridges provide shelter, which is why you will find many people sleeping under them all over the city. In the case of R2Dtoo, the bridge will provide cover as people go to the port-a-potty, or use the kitchen. It is difficult to get dry and warm when you live outside, and many feel this will be a positive feature. The proposed site is also wheel chair accessible. Since so many people living with disabilities also need emergency shelter, this is an added plus.
If you actually talk with people at R2Dtoo, you will learn more about their vision for providing a safe place, and the realities that they deal with each and everyday. You will gain a new perspective. As a potential neighbor, I hope you can open your mind and your heart. We are already hearing about residents and business owners in the Pearl who have visited R2Dtoo and want to support this amazing community.