It could have been a make or break morning for Right 2 Dream
Too, but it looks like it will be several weeks before a judge decides the fate
of the controversial homeless way station.
This morning, after listening to two hours of legal
arguments from the city and Right 2 Dream Too, Judge Karin J. Immergut elected
to take the matter under advisement. She said she would return with a decision
in two to three weeks.
The city says the operation, where an average of 60 homeless
people sleep each night, is an unpermitted recreational campground, and in
violation of city code. Right 2 Dream Too maintains that their camp is an
emergency rest area, where people experiencing homelessness can find shelter
and access other services.
The recent one-night shelter and street count in Multnomah
County tallied nearly 1,900 people sleeping outside after shelter space was
full. Right 2 Dream Too established its rest station in October 2011.
By the city’s measure, the organization (via the property
owners Michael Wright and Daniel Cossettes) owes City Hall $25,687 in fines for
noncompliance with city code. The campers say the permit and compliance requirements
are prohibitive for such a fledgling nonprofit. (The organization had corrected
one violation in lowering the height of its fence along Burnside from eight to
six feet.)
Last year, Right 2 Dream Too, represented by attorney Mark
Kramer, sued the city to suspend the fines that accumulate $1,500 each month.
But it is a technical issue that could end the nonprofit’s legal course forward.
In April, the city filed a complaint saying Right 2 Dream
Too hasn’t exhausted all of its options to appeal the city’s decision before
going to court. Right 2 Dream Too responded saying it has been denied a
reasonable opportunity to appeal the fines or have the $1,200 administrative
filing fee waived.
Immergut is considering whether to accept the city’s motion
to dismiss the nonprofit’s suit. The homeless organization claims that, given
the attitude by the city around homelessness in general, the lack of process
for waiving the fee, and the expired timeline to date, it has — for all intents
and purposes — run the course.
All of this is to say it will be another two to three weeks
before Immergut decides this technical matter, but if it’s in the city’s favor,
it could be a death knell for Right 2 Dream Too’s legal argument. The
organization simply does not have the money or time to pursue an appeal.
Meanwhile, with the Fourth and Burnside property up for
sale, Right 2 Dream Too members have been looking into alternative sites for
its shelter operation. One site under consideration is the Medford Building,
former home to Transition Projects, which moved into the Bud Clark Commons in
2011. The building has a large shelter space able with room for about 95
people.