Stung by Commissioner Amanda Fritz’s insistence that moving Right 2 Dream Too onto a city-owned lot in the Pearl District sometime this fall will be perfectly legal, the Pearl District Neighborhood Association last night voted to free up $10,000 in rainy-day funding for a potential lawsuit.
As the Mercury already revealed this week, a land-use attorney working on behalf of neighbors sent a letter to the city last month threatening such a response. That was soon after the Mercury reported the outline of Fritz’s deal with Right 2 Dream Too. Since then, neighbors have written letters to Fritz urging her not to do the deal. Many are concerned about process—others seem more concerned about the specter of homeless people living nearby.
The latest development, which came at last night’s neighborhood association meeting, was first reported by KGW early this morning. The Oregonian‘s Brad Schmidt posted a link to the piece in his well-read daily city hall roundup.
“That’s not how the city of Portland works and that’s not how the state of Oregon works,” neighborhood president Patricia Gardner said, according to KGW. “Public process is part of our DNA and it should be respected.”
The Oregonian, in a later post, points out that Pearl neighbors are making common legal cause with Williams & Dame Development—run by Homer Williams, a major fundraiser for Mayor Charlie Hales and one of the major forces behind the creation of the Pearl as we know it. Hales has so far publicly supported Fritz’s effort to move Right 2 Dream Too, telling the Mercury he looked forward to seeing how the public process, now that a lawsuit over the current site on NW 4th and Burnside is set, works out.
The City needn’t be concerned about lawsuits. Everybody knows that you can’t sue City Hall and win. There really is no need for anyone to have to sleep under a bridge, anyway. Come on up to Portland State University and sleep in our high rise parking structures. There are even plenty of public toilets so you don’t have to shit in the doorway of a nice restaurant somewhere. Don’t worry about the PSU Safety Patrollers. We’ll just get them a nice, box of donuts. In fact, lets send out for pizza for everybody!