The Grants Pass City Council unanimously approved a settlement in its ongoing legal battle with Disability Rights Oregon on Wednesday night.
The nonprofit advocacy group filed suit against the city in January after the city council voted to drastically reduce the availability of authorized camping sites. Homeless people were restricted to only one site from 5 p.m. to 7 a.m.
Disability Rights Oregon argued that the change violated a state law that requires homeless camping rules to be “objectively reasonable” in terms of time, place and manner. The lawsuit also claimed that the city broke state non-discrimination laws.
The proposed agreement would require the city to ensure that a resting space with the capacity for 150 people be maintained in the urban growth boundary for one year. The space must be low barrier and be compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
City attorney Stephanie Nuttall explained at the Wednesday city council meeting that the city doesn’t have to be in charge of the space.
“As long as we’re making sure that somebody else is doing it, that would suffice,” she said.
The settlement also requires the city to award a $60,000 grant to a nonprofit organization that would provide services to the homeless community in Grants Pass. The city will also pay the plaintiffs’ attorney fees. The $85,000 sum will be split equally between the city’s general fund and insurance.
Tom Stenson, the deputy legal director at Disability Rights Oregon, is the lead attorney for the case. He said this settlement has been in the works since March.
“We’re moving the city more in a direction of trying to solve homelessness, trying to get people out of homelessness,” Stenson said, “rather than just, you know, say you’re not allowed to be here in Grants Pass.”
Stenson said the provisions for resting space and ADA compliance outlined in the settlement will be enacted as soon as the plaintiffs approve the agreement, but the city has until the end of 2026 to award the $60,000 grant.
Stenson said he expects that the plaintiffs will sign the settlement agreement, but it could take up to a week.
“By the nature of the problem, I can’t email it to them at home and have them print it out at their home computer,” he said. “We’re gonna have to physically go see people.”
