Portland’s city government has reached a tentative agreement to clear more homeless campsites from city sidewalks, settling a lawsuit from 10 residents who have, or care for people with, physical disabilities.
As part of a proposed settlement, the city agreed to prioritize removing campsites that obstruct sidewalks, extend its ban on city employees handing out tents and tarps to homeless residents, and remove at least 500 camps from sidewalks each year. The city also will make it easier for people with physical disabilities to report obstructed sidewalks.
The Portland City Council must approve the settlement and will consider it at its meeting Wednesday. But its terms drew condemnation from advocacy groups both for people experiencing homelessness and people with disabilities.
Mayor Ted Wheeler said in an email the settlement shared elements of his proposal for a daytime ban on tent camping on public property, which the council also will consider next week.
“I strongly believe that everyone should have access to sidewalks to navigate the city safely, and this is especially true for Portlanders with mobility challenges,” Wheeler said.
It’s unclear how much the requirement to clear at least 500 camps from sidewalks annually would change city practice. The city reports it cleared 3,500 campsites in the 12-month period leading up to July, and it’s unclear how many of the sites were on sidewalks.
Multnomah County has nearly 4,000 residents who are experiencing homelessness and are living outdoors rather than in a group shelter or transitional housing, the most recent count from a single night in January 2023 found.
Among the residents who filed the lawsuit are people with mobility disabilities who use electric scooters, wheelchairs or walkers; people who are legally blind and use a cane to navigate; and caretakers for someone with a physical disability.
The lawsuit alleged blocked sidewalks have impeded people with disabilities form accessing public transit, restaurants, stores and other destinations in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
It cited as an example one cluster of tents on sidewalks along both sides of Northwest 19th Avenue between Thurman and Savier streets, where 19th runs under an approach to the Fremont Bridge. It said that encampment prevented people with mobility impairments from passing without having to go into the street, putting them at risk of being struck by cars.
John DiLorenzo, the attorney for the plaintiffs, said the settlement accomplished most of what he and his clients had hoped for, though they sought to compel greater city spending on clearing tents from sidewalks than what’s proposed out in the agreement.
“I’m satisfied that the mayor and city attorney’s office have negotiated with us in good faith,” he said, “and our intent is to keep the sidewalks clear.”
The state’s largest advocacy group for people with disabilities, though, questioned how much the settlement will helps those it claims to represent.
“It’s really galling to see the (Americans with Disabilities Act) used as a weapon against people with disabilities,” said Tom Stenson, the deputy legal director for Disability Rights Oregon. The settlement, he said, does nothing to address the many obstacles with reduced mobility encounter daily, like signs, tables, benches and garbage.
Stenson said there are ways to make the sidewalks safe for people with disabilities while preserving the rights of homeless people, but that the proposed settlement accomplishes neither.
“We know that housing is what gets people off the street,” Stenson said. “But the only real metric here is, does the city do enough camp clearances? If you clear someone out of a camp but don’t give them a place to go, they’re just going to move down the block.”
Advocates and service providers who work with homeless Portlanders said they’re sympathetic to those who use mobility devices and can’t navigate sidewalks. But they said the settlement, as well as Wheeler’s proposed ban, will bring more harm to unsheltered people — the majority of whom also have a disability.
“I think it’s a great irony that this is being couched as a disability issue,” said Sandra Comstock, executive director of Hygiene4All, which provides showers, toilets, trash drop-off and personal care services to people living outside.
Scott Kerman, the director of Blanchet House, which provides meals and other services to homeless people, said the lawsuit is a situation where “both sides are right” — the plaintiffs, he said, do have a right to travel on sidewalks safely and unencumbered.
But he said the people living on the sidewalks don’t have other options. A lack of supportive housing and shelters make displacement even more traumatic for people whose tents are swept, particularly those with disabilities.
Kerman said the same pattern plays out every time the city introduces a new policy on homelessness.
“The consequences land hard on people who are unsheltered, and then it’s the day centers who are there to support them,” he said. “But let’s be honest, we’re all at capacity.”
Kerman and Comstock both said they anticipate homeless service providers — already at capacity providing aid to unsheltered people — will see heightened effects of the new policies during extreme weather.
“I would not be surprised if we have a lot more death this summer, combined between the heat and the amount of displacement and dispossession,” Comstock said, adding that when people are displaced, they often lose medication or identification.
Kerman said the daytime ban will present logistical challenge. Blanchet House typically allows patrons to bring their personal belongings, like bicycles or carts, inside while they’re eating. But with more people displaced during the day, he said, there may not be enough room to accommodate all the patrons and their items.
And the daytime camping ban may heighten safety concerns for homeless people.
“A lot of people sleep during the day and are scared to sleep at night,” Kerman said. “There are many women on the street, and men too, who are domestic violence victims.”
Stenson, the Disability Rights Oregon attorney, said the city instead needs to search for a real solution.
“This is not going to serve the interests of people with disabilities,” he said. “This is a tool for landlords and businesses to clear their particular block and disperse them somewhere else where somebody less powerful lives.”
—Jayati Ramakrishnan; jramakrishnan@oregonian.com
