The record · Transcript
Council Session — 2025-06-05
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Session summaryEditor-reviewed
The Portland City Council met on Thursday, June 5, 2025, with a quorum present for the roll call. Three agenda items were considered. The first addressed a proposed $350,000 settlement of a bodily injury lawsuit involving a Portland Parks and Recreation vehicle collision from April 2022; no public testimony was offered, and votes occurred with outcomes recorded in the vote ledger. The second item concerned a $75,000 workers' compensation settlement for a Portland Permitting and Development plumbing inspector involving two claims dating to 2016 and 2022; again no public testimony was offered, and a vote occurred. The council then recessed before reconvening for a time-certain item authorizing settlement of a lawsuit related to historic displacement of families from the Central Albina neighborhood beginning in the 1950s through the 1970s, tied to Emanuel Hospital's expansion plans. Attorneys described the case's history, terms, and non-monetary provisions, and extensive public testimony followed from plaintiffs, attorneys, and community members expressing a range of support, concerns about exclusion of other displaced families, and calls for greater compensation. Following discussion, a recess, and an executive session, the council considered and voted on an amendment increasing the settlement amount; figures discussed were stated inconsistently across speakers. Votes occurred on the amendment and the amended ordinance, with outcomes recorded in the vote ledger. The meeting adjourned after this final item.
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Procedural episode · turns 0–6
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0 Good afternoon. Counselors, I believe we have a quorum. It is 201 on Thursday, June 5th. I am calling back to order this week's city council meeting. We have three items on our agenda today. One is a time certain at 230. So I'm hoping these other two do move relatively quickly. And I just want to note colleagues, both for all of you and for the folks who are here with us today. We have a few councilors with a conflict who will have to leave at about. What is that? 445 so when a few folks get up and leave toward the end of our conversation, please know that that's not related to the conversation in the room. It's a pre-scheduled commitment. Rebecca, could you please call the roll? Canal here.
1 Ryan here. Koyama Lane. Here. Morillo here. Novick here. Clark. Here. Green. Here. Zimmerman. Here. Avalos. Present. Dunphy. Smith here. Pirtle-guiney.
2 I am here. And could we please get the rules of order and decorum read? Excuse me.
3 Thank you. Good afternoon. Welcome to Portland city council. To testify before council in person or virtually. You must sign up in advance on the council agenda at w-w-w. Agenda. Information on engaging with council can be found on the council clerk's web page. Individuals may testify for three minutes unless the presiding officer states otherwise, your microphone will be muted when your time is over. The presiding officer preserves order disruptive conduct such as shouting, refusing to conclude your testimony when your time is up, or interrupting others testimony or council deliberations will not be allowed. If you cause a disruption, a warning will be given. Further disruption will result in ejection from the meeting. Anyone who fails to leave once ejected is subject to arrest for trespass. Additionally, council may take a short recess and reconvene virtually. Your testimony should address the matter being considered. When testifying, please state your name for the record. Your address is not necessary. If you are a lobbyist, identify the organization you represent. Virtual testifiers should unmute themselves when the council clerk calls your name. Thank you.
4 Thank you very much. Rebecca, could you please call agenda item 13 our first agenda item today?
5 Excuse me. Agenda item 14.
6 I believe we have 13, 14 and 15. I'm sorry, I was one number behind. Yes, 14 I apologize.
7 Of course. No worries. Item 14 pay settlement of carlos ibarra bodily injury lawsuit in the sum of $350,000 involving Portland parks and recreation.
8 Thank you. Councilors. We have representatives from our city attorney and our claims offices here to present this item for us. Go right ahead.
9 Good afternoon. My name is anne milligan, and I'm a senior deputy city attorney. She her pronouns. And on zoom we have david ferro, a senior risk analyst with risk management. In April of 2022, carlos ibarra was driving his 2018 nissan rogue in icy conditions on the southwest barbara boulevard on ramp to interstate five on April 15th, 2022, when he encountered a stalled vehicle along the left curb around a blind corner. He slowed or stopped in the travel Lane, depending on whose testimony you would believe between the two people who testified where he was rear ended by a city owned large vehicle truck driven by a parks employee en route to the first assignment of the day. Our driver did not have any prior traffic issues, citations, wrecks, or any kind of complaints about his driving history. Plaintiff filed a lawsuit against the city and the individual parks employee in Multnomah county circuit court in March of 2024, seeking damages in excess of $1.9 million. Trial is currently set to commence on June 23rd. Plaintiff claimed medicals in excess of $428,000 and over $80,000 in lost wages. The city attorney's office and risk management recommend resolving this case for $350,000.
10 Mr. Ferro, do you have anything to add?
11 No. Thank you.
12 Thank you. Rebecca, do we have anybody signed up for public testimony?
13 We do not.
14 Okay. Councilors. If anybody has questions for miss milligan and mr. Ferro or comments more generally around this agenda item, please go ahead and put yourself in the queue. I am councilor Canal.
15 Thank you for all this information. I guess my and including the claims data over 1 in 5 years in the attachment as well. Can you speak to policy changes or direct us to someone who can speak to policy changes that that may result in not having this come up to us again for a different incident in the future at pd?
16 Yeah, I think that this was an unavoidable collision on an unusually icy day. I don't think anyone expected icy conditions at the end of April. It was also on a flyover. And so it was. It was frozen while the rest of the road conditions were not. It was around a blind corner. It was low speed. This is an unusual situation with an eggshell plaintiff.
17 I'll add to that. Just a quick correction that this was a parks vehicle, an employee and not pb.
18 I said ppe and d meaning, but I meant ppe. And thank you.
19 And mr. Ferro, I'm sorry. Can you introduce yourself formally?
20 Yes. David farrell, risk management.
21 Thank you. Councilors, any other questions or comments? Okay. Rebecca, could you please call the roll?
22 Canal?
23 Yes.
24 Ryan. I Koyama Lane. I Morillo. I Novick.
25 I.
26 Clark. I Green, I Zimmerman.
27 No.
28 Avalos I.
29 Dunphy I.
30 Smith I.
31 Pirtle-guiney I.
32 11 ayes and 12 noes. The ordinance is passed.
33 Thank you. Could you please read agenda item 15 for us, rebecca? Okay.
34 Item 15 pay workers compensation claims of robin shaeffer in the sum of $75,000 involving Portland permitting and development.
35 Thank you. And counselors again. We have representatives from the city attorney's office, and I believe a worker's compensation disability analyst with us for this agenda item. Go right ahead.
36 All right. Thank you. My name is lynn vu. I am a chief deputy city attorney. With me today via zoom is sue quinonez, who is the manager of the city's worker's compensation program. We're here to discuss the proposed settlement of the worker's compensation claims for robin schaeffer. To provide you with some background, miss schaeffer is a plumbing inspector. With permitting and development, formerly bureau of developmental services. Miss schaeffer has two worker's compensation claims. The first is for a may 2016 date of exposure, based on the medical evidence at the time risk management accepted the claim, processed it, and provided benefits, miss schaeffer was able to go back to regular work. She worked for a period of about four years without any incident. In September 2022, she had a recurrence of symptoms based on the medical experts opinions. They initially thought that she had experienced a new discrete injury. Risk management proceeded with accepting and processing that claim as well. Miss schaeffer has since failed to improve and remains off work on time loss benefits. There is a disagreement among the medical experts at this point about what is exactly is causing her symptoms. The parties participated in a mediation on April 7th with an administrative law judge mediator selected from the Oregon worker's compensation board. The parties agreed to settle the settlement terms before you today. Those terms would involve a global settlement, which means that there will be no more benefits paid on the claim, and miss schaeffer will separate from city employment. In consideration for this agreement, the city will pay the sum of $75,000. The settlement also includes a direct payment of about $4,800 to one of miss schaeffer's medical providers, for services that were disputed. The city attorney's office, risk management and permitting and development recommend this negotiated settlement because it will allow both parties a complete resolution of all pending issues. That concludes my presentation. But sue and I are happy to answer any questions you might have.
37 Thank you. Sue, do you have anything to add before we move on?
38 Susan quinones here, risk management? No, I do not.
39 Thank you. Rebecca, is there anybody signed up for public testimony?
40 There is not.
41 Okay. Councilors. Any questions? Okay. Seeing no one in the queue. Rebecca, can you please call the roll?
42 Canal.
43 Thank you for answering everything in advance. I vote aye.
44 Ryan.
45 Hi. Koyama Lane I. Morillo I. Novick I.
46 Clark. I Green.
47 I. Zimmerman I. Avalos I. Dunphy I. Smith I.
48 Pirtle-guiney. I with 12 ayes. The ordinance is passed.
49 Thank you.
50 Thank you very much, rebecca. We listed the next item as a time certain for 230, which means I think we are not allowed to start before then. Colleagues, I apologize. I thought that these would take a few more minutes each. Do we need to take a brief recess?
51 We do.
52 Okay. I know this is rare for us.
53 Any questions? Canal. I answered them all.
54 We are going to take a brief recess until 229. That's 17 minutes. That gives us one minute to actually get back here in time for a 230 start. Colleagues.
55 Point of.
56 Point of information.
57 Is it possible to do one of the appointments in the time that we have?
58 Do you one of the.
59 Don't we have like okay.
60 Did you get to the appointments yesterday after I left I. Agenda items five and six.
61 Yes. My mistake. Okay.
62 You you might have been gone at that time. I'm not sure. I think you and I were both gone. Councilor. Yes. So I don't think we have anything else on our agenda for today. So we will recess until 229. We will come back here then, and we will call agenda item 1516. In the reordering at 230.
63 Yeah.
64 Good afternoon and welcome back. We are reconvening this afternoon's Portland city council meeting. I apologize all for that small break, but hopefully folks were able to take good advantage of it. When we schedule something for a time certain we don't like to start before then, because we want to make sure everybody who is planning on being here for that agenda item has had a chance to arrive, and we thought we would need a little bit more time for the things before this on our agenda today, we are back. We have quorum. I don't believe we need to call roll again. So, rebecca, could you please read? This is now agenda item 16.
65 Authorize city attorney to settle lawsuit related to the historic central albina displacement and pay settlement of named plaintiffs claims in the sum of $1 million.
66 Thank you very much, colleagues. We have a number of folks from our attorney and claims offices here to present to us today. Mr. Taylor, would you like to begin?
67 Thank you. Council president robert taylor, city attorney, for the record. This is a very important day for us. It's a it's a case involving 26 plaintiffs. It does not resolve all of the historic wrongs that happened because of the displacement in the 1950s through the 70s. But it is one part of what the city can do to try to right some of the wrongs that have happened in our city. Beth woodard will provide a description of the facts and a description of the settlement, but I want to thank you all for taking this under consideration today. Beth.
68 Good afternoon, council. For the record, my name is beth woodard. I'm a senior deputy city attorney, and today with us is also rose radic, a senior claims analyst with ricks management. And rose specializes in civil rights claims. Today's proposed settlement resolves claims brought by 26 survivors and descendants of families historically displaced from the central albina neighborhood, beginning in the 1950s and continuing through the 1970s, many homes surrounding emmanuel hospital were destroyed under the auspices of urban renewal. The city and Portland development commission, which is the predecessor of prosper Portland, assisted emmanuel hospital in these efforts. Plaintiffs, many of whom are with us today, are 26 individual survivors and descendants of homeowners in the central albina neighborhood. In 2022, the plaintiffs filed a lawsuit in federal district court and named the city prosper Portland and legacy as defendants. The suit alleged claims of a civil rights conspiracy, unjust enrichment, and public nuisance. The parties began a series of judicial settlement conferences in 2024, culminating in the proposed settlement agreement before you today. Separately, plaintiffs have reached a settlement agreement with legacy, and the terms of that settlement are confidential. As a brief outline of the proposed settlement agreement before you today, it requires the city and prosper Portland each to contribute $1 million for a total lump sum payment of 2 million. This is separate from any sum paid by legacy under their confidential settlement. It also includes a number of non-monetary terms that plaintiffs requested and negotiated. Those are. Plaintiffs may acquire up to two vacant properties from prosper Portland at no cost. Prosper Portland will also provide a permit to plaintiffs to use the mlk heritage marker site up to four times a year, at no cost. Beginning this year, the city will honor a descendants day proclamation for at least five years. Additionally, the city and prosper Portland will provide letters of support for any grant funded documentary about the central albina displacement for ten years, and finally, several of the items will become effective to the extent the keller auditorium renovations proceed. Those include an interior display created by plaintiffs, opportunities for descendants of displaced families to participate in the design and planning committees, and a ten year hiring preference for city jobs related to the keller auditorium. For context, keller auditorium was renamed in honor of richard keller, who provided a substantial donation in honor of his father, ira. Ira keller was the director of Portland development commission during the time of the central albina displacement. Because of the constraints of this litigation, this settlement can only resolve the claims of the 26 plaintiffs. The city recognizes and acknowledges the harms to the entire neighborhood and broader community because of these displacements. To that end, the city and prosper Portland have been working for several years to address the impacts of the systemic displacement. The city and prosper issued formal apologies in 2017 and are presently working through the community and collaborations such as the williams and russell project and the albina vision trust partnership. The city is also working through its initiatives such as the north northeast housing strategy and north northeast community development initiative. The north northeast neighborhood housing strategy was created with an initial allocation of 20 million to support affordable housing. That allocation has grown over 70 million in recent years. This strategy is intended to address legacy displacement in north and northeast Portland through investments in new affordable rental housing, opportunities for first time home buyers, and home retention programs for longtime residents. The city and risk management recommend approval of this settlement agreement. And this concludes our prepared remarks. But we are happy to answer any questions you may have. Thank you.
69 Thank you. Does anyone else have anything to add? Okay, rebecca, is there public testimony signed up?
70 There is. We have 13 people signed up.
71 Let me ask you to come back for questions, but we'd like to hear from community members. Thank you.
72 First we have ed johnson, followed by diane nguyen and jonathan ader. And you may all approach the testimony table.
73 And for anybody who is new to testifying at city council, when you begin your testimony, please go ahead and introduce yourself. Just your name. We don't need other information right now. You'll hear a first beep, which or a ding which tells you you have 30s left and then a second ding, at which point we'd ask you to just finish the sentence that you're on. So we have time for everybody. Please go right ahead.
74 Good afternoon. My name is ed johnson. I'm the director of litigation at the Oregon law center. I've been a legal aid lawyer in Portland for 30 years. I represent the emmanuel displaced persons association, two and all 26 individual descendants and survivors who whose families lost their homes that they owned and their entire community. When central albina was demolished, all 27 of my clients urge you to vote yes and support the settlement of this lawsuit. The. The. It's difficult to summarize in three minutes everything that happened here, but as a white portlander, I will admit that I lived here a long time before I had any idea what happened in northeast Portland. And I think that's true of a lot of white portlanders. The last five years, I've learned a lot of details about what happened, and it's much worse than anything I'd been told or led to believe. The to start with, the emmanuel hospital expansion project is fundamentally different from other racist urban renewal projects, because most of that expansion did not happen. And in fact, this neighborhood is thriving. Neighborhood was destroyed and replaced with nothing. A lot of that land, as we sit here today, remains vacant or is used for parking. I encourage portlanders to learn more about what happened, to read our complaint, to read the written testimony of our clients, you're going to hear from some of our clients today, and I think that right now is an important time for our city to move forward. There are people in our country right now who are trying to whitewash our history books of our most shameful chapters, and when people who live those chapters have the courage to step forward and speak the truth, it is more vital than ever that we listen to what they have to say. The. You're also going to hear from some of our clients in person. You're going to hear from some people who will testify that this settlement doesn't right all the wrongs. It doesn't go far enough. It doesn't include everyone who was harmed. All of that is completely true. But this lawsuit was never designed to do those things. This was not a class action lawsuit. These are 27 specific plaintiffs who stepped forward and fought for two and a half years. And we reached a compromise after two and a half hard years of litigation. Like most compromises, no one is 100% happy with the result of it. But that is the order of business in front of us today. If this body and this city wants to do something better and bigger and more inclusive, you can and you should and we will help you. But for today, we urge you to vote yes. Thank you.
75 Thank you. Go right ahead.
76 Good afternoon. My name is diane nguyen, and I'm here to ask the council to vote in favor of this settlement. I am an attorney with legal aid services of Oregon, along with Oregon law center and our pro bono partner, susan stark. We represent the plaintiffs in this case. I am also a born and raised portlander, but until I got involved in this case, much of the history of central albina was completely unknown to me. Since then, I have heard stories from this group of plaintiffs that I still can't help but recall. Each time that I passed through that neighborhood, I have learned about ailing grandparents who were forced out of retirement and back into the workforce because the home that was supposed to provide them with stability and security was suddenly taken away from them late in their lives. I learned about the sacrifices of parents who worked hard to build home ownership foundation for their children, only to have it stolen away. Only to have it stolen away, and for them to know that their children would have to repeat and endure some of the very same hardships that they had wanted to spare their children. They shared how it felt as children to witness their parents, their heroes and protectors struggle to not break down, even as they tried to shield their children from the harshest of the injustice. There are also stories of childhood exposure to racism that is no less than cruel for the lasting, deep scars that it left on their psyche. But beyond these and other pains, what came out in their stories was their pride in their elders, in persevering, fighting back and rebuilding. In bringing this lawsuit, this group of survivors and descendants have channeled the power, love and spirituality that they share with their displaced elders. And unlike their involuntary removal from central albina in the past, the settlement before the council now is these 27 plaintiffs choice and is unanimous for the last five years. And going back even further, they have made untold sacrifices of time, intellectual labor, emotional well-being, health, and even their physical safety to bring this litigation to this point and to keep along with it, to keep alive the stories of central albina from those who lived it. This lawsuit was brought by two and these 26 individual community members who came together and showed up repeatedly over the years, even as others have considered it to be a lost cause. The settlement of this lawsuit does not foreclose any other action that the city may take to right all the wrongs that it caused in the name of urban renewal. Similarly, the potential to do something more later does not in any way detract from the city's ability to take concrete action today, to acknowledge that these plaintiffs have already fought, sacrificed, and waited too long to be told no yet again, please vote on this settlement and moving forward, find ways to provide adequate redress and restitution for all the affected community members.
77 Thank you very much. Did you call a third person?
78 I did, jonathan ader is online. Jonathan, you can unmute and begin testimony.
79 Hello, city council members, I'd like to express my strong opposition to the proposed ordinance to authorize the city attorney to settle the lawsuit related to the historic central hub, minor displacement for the sum of $1 million. The settlement is inadequate, fails to address the injustices faced by the black community. It also is profoundly insulting, as it does not even admit liability for the harm caused by municipal defendants. The razing of nearly 200 homes and businesses, and what was once the heart of the city's black community, represents a trauma. The average value of those properties today, each conservatively, is over half $1 million, suggesting at least a total value of 100 million in assets. In contrast, the proposed settlement translates to approximately $38,000 for each of the 26 plaintiffs and does not adequately compensate for the broader community. Compounding the injustice of the settlement is the fact that it's taken 75 years to reach this point, and yet we're presented with a settlement that fails to reflect the magnitude of the harm inflicted, the absence of the comprehensive audit or assessment of the properties taken further complicates the matters. And without such an evaluation, it's impossible to determine whether the settlement accurately represents the true losses incurred by these families. Moreover, the total amount is significantly lower than the estimated property value. The settlement addresses only a small number of plaintiffs. There is a lack of comprehensive evaluation of the properties, requiring the parties to bear their own attorney's fees is disproportionately affects the plaintiffs, and is improper. There are no binding guarantees, so that the agreement does not ensure that the promised property transfers and benefits will be fulfilled, and the settlement mentions prosper will convey up to two of the above properties to 1 or 2 limited liability companies. The properties are also in as is condition, leaving the plaintiffs to accept properties without guarantees about their condition. The agreement states. Plaintiffs will have examined investigated the properties. There is a weak dispute resolution process. The settlement outlines that parties shall mediate in an effort to resolve the matter. It does not have an admission of liability, undermining the acknowledgment of harm to the community, and it promises for future hiring practices. Community involvement are not binding commitments. The settlement mentions the city will provide a ten year hiring preference for disabled families, but they're not binding, so I urge the city council to reconsider the settlement and engage in a meaningful dialog with the affected community. And let's not repeat the mistakes of the past. True justice requires a commitment to addressing historical wrongs in a manner that respects the dignity and the value of those affected. Thank you.
80 Next is yvette roberts. Yvette is online.
81 Hi, I'm yvette roberts, and I would like to say that there still exists the injustice that there were so many other descendants and families that were purposely excluded from this lawsuit. Why was this not a class action suit? On behalf of all the families and descendants that were affected? Is the city suggesting that the rest of us who were purposely excluded filed individual or group lawsuits? Why is this group of 27 allowed to take from the rest of us? There was a gatekeeper who limited the plaintiffs to friends and allies, and the rest of us were told that they were not taking any more plaintiffs, and some were even removed from the list. There's also that ad hoc group, the edp two. That's nothing more than a front or pretense that it represents some larger group of us that is managed by the same gatekeeper who has no intentions of extending fairness to the rest of us. What is the city council going to do to include all the families that are not represented in the lawsuit? Even when I contacted legal aid, the attorney specifically stated he only represented the 27. When I mentioned that you represent the rest of us as edp two, he made it clear that he did not. I would like to further further contact the city council on the plan to include the rest of us. Should I call to schedule a meeting? Should we file our own lawsuits? How long is this going to go on? I agree with mr. Elder, who just spoke, that it's not enough for what's done, but this group of 27 knew full well that there were so many more of us. There were people who attended those meetings and they were purposely excluded. That is not fair. So I would say to the city, I don't like the settlement because it excludes so many of us who actually lived in those homes. Of the 27 who never lived in those homes, who never even lived those neighborhoods. So it is not fair to us. Thank you. I'm yvette roberts.
82 Thank you very much.
83 Next is gregory ramble and james earl crittendon and rahsaan muhammad.
84 Hi. My name is james creedon, founder of aedpa three. Aedpa three was formed to seek answers and justice in response to aedpa two Oregon law refusal to response without dismissal and at times hostile attitudes toward individuals excluded from aedpa two. There were 27 families taken from the plaque. It was excuse me, were 27 families taken from the plaque posted on emanuel's, located at 501 north graham. If so, why weren't the families or persons on the plaque contacted? Over all the years the settlement has been in process, there was ample time to make the effort to contact every name on the list. If aedpa aedpa two was in true pursuit to correct this injustice, it seems that the selected representation was engaged in it. If this is not the case, aedpa two would like. We would like an explanation. Why were the homeowners only represented when renters were displaced? Also due to eminent domain? What was the vetting process in to ensure those who receive settlements actually lived in the properties claim? Were settlement based merely on aedpa two and Oregon law center, or has third party verified that all claims are legitimate? There is a specific case where a person state were displaced from an address, where another family resided, and the person did not reside there. Now it could be the person's family home, but the person stated they were displaced from the time the actual family resided at this address. So if so, it is foregone fact the person did not reside from the address. Yes, a grave injustice was done, but in need to correct an injustice of the past. Do not facilitate an injustice of the present that will impact the future of the generation. Thank you very much.
85 Thank you.
86 Please go right ahead.
87 I would first like to thank the city council for the time that you have taken to hear this. I'd like to thank the 26 other litigants, plaintiffs in this case. But above all, except for the creator himself. I would like to thank. The engine behind. This movement that is taking place in this crucial time. My name is rahsaan muhammad. I'm one of those plaintiffs in this case. I had a written statement prepared, but I would like to speak a little bit from the heart and the spirit today, and I'd like to speak mainly to the subject matter of the private public partnerships that are created to do things that public entities cannot do. And so they contract private entities to do this for them. And in this case, this has been probably one of the most egregious examples of that. We have watched the name changes of these entities so as to throw off the trail that they have left. We have watched three generations pass before an announcement was made to build on the property that had been left as a. Reminder of what was taken. My family's home sat right across from the church that I was baptized in. I've watched. Many of these movements fall by the wayside because of time, because of place, because of the loss of those who kept track of the records. But we have our records, we have kept track and watched this all the way up until 2018, when an announcement was made to do something to expand the surgical unit of the hospital. We have been battling with this hospital ever since this hospital invaded our community. So I would like to urge all of you to vote yes for this particular settlement that we worked tirelessly to come to this conclusion that I might add that. I'll just say that you all may not have wanted this to see the light of day, but it was a long shot that was hit right on target. And so I urge all of you to vote yes for this particular piece of this settlement today.
88 Thank you very much for being here.
89 Joe mcferrin, the second. Thank you, royal harris.
90 Good afternoon. My name is royal harris and I am a survivor of this experience. I was born in emanuel hospital April 17th, 1969, and from there I moved with my great aunt and great uncle, alberta and general skipper, to 3103 north Vancouver. I still remember the summer of 1973 when we moved. My aunt was 64. My uncle was 70. From there we moved to the walnut park neighborhood. Vancouver avenue church was my cousin eloquently spoke about. I've attended my whole life, so I've never physically left the neighborhood. I have been displaced from my home. At 56 years old. And today I decided to do a little computation. Looking at the number that that gentleman used earlier, a rough estimate of $100 million worth of property over 52 years at 5% return. That is $260 million. So what I'm here to talk about is not the fact that we're talking about infinitesimal or minuscule numbers. We are talking about significant numbers that change the trajectory of communities and families. What we are here for is redress, the acknowledgment of harm. That includes a reversal from that practice and includes the true and proper compensation for that victimization. I agree that number is woefully underrepresented of what we deserve. And to that point, that 1 million based on that 260 million is 0.038% of what was taken. I am not here to do anything other than to acknowledge that this is true and that, unlike in a lot of spaces, descendants still exist. I lived in that house with my mama and my papa, and at that time, what made that cool was in my family. In my community, home ownership was a tangible way to cement legacy. I have a grandson who is one year older than I was when I was displaced. One of his great joys, as it will be the day after I pick him up and we go to starbucks, will be to go to his grandparents house. I am the child of this situation. I am not ethereal. I am a tangible face in front of you. To say this needs to be redressed in a most proper way, whatever that is deemed to be. Thank you.
91 Thank you very much for being here.
92 Karanja cruz.
93 Welcome.
94 Thank you, karanja cruz. For the record, I just signed up for public testimony. I didn't I didn't know I was testifying for this particular item. So for the record, my name is karanja cruz. I'm a licensed elementary school teacher by trade, and I'm a cannabis retail business owner in Portland. Before I address the cannabis industry needs, I wanted to express my strong support for the central albina displacement settlement being considered. Today, this settlement represents a long overdue justice of survivors and descendants of families. I know everyone has not been included, but again, I believe this is a start of something of that needs to be repaired. Many businesses were removed during this displacement, and the settlement acknowledged the historical role that was made. I just want to give a special shout out to byrd. I know she's been working on this for many years. I want to give a special thank you to councilor Smith for proposing an allocation for 200,000 for from the contingent funds to support the grandview's workforce development initiative. This proposal directly aligns with the equity goals that both measure 26 180, and this settlement represents in personal context, on the war on drugs impact. I also speak today not as a business owner, but also as a person personally harmed by the war on drugs. My father struggled with addiction, which meant I grew up without him in my most precious adolescent years, surrounded by poverty, gangs and a negative lifestyle that unfortunately became promoted through the aspects of. Even in my hip hop culture, this experience is shared by countless people in my community, particularly black families who bore the brunt of discriminatory drug policies. Measure 26 180 was created to repair that harm, to invest cannabis tax revenue back into the community. Most impacted by this criminalization. Cannabis pays the bills a lot of city bills, but our industry does not get a seat at the table. Cannabis tax dollars revenue now funds multiple city programs, yet our industry remains excluded from the economic opportunities we help to create. We faced the highest security, cannot bank with other industries, and operate under immense regulatory pressures, all while making millions for the city. Cannabis is not the cause of oregon's addiction crisis, yet we're being penalized as we are. We're not eligible for measure 110 funding. We're not eligible for the traditional economic recovery from clean energy funds. Workforce training support. Despite employing thousands. A solution cannabis health tech program is what I'm asking for you all to support. As councilor Smith is going to submit an amendment to support this program. The city had used cannabis dollars before, called the seed program, and I just want to reignite that. And hopefully you guys will consider this amendment. Thank you.
95 Thank you for being here.
96 Claude bowles.
97 Good afternoon, claude bowles here. I'm one of the 26, 27 or 1 of the 27. I just came in just wanting to speak support on a yes vote to approve this settlement. I've been most fortunate to be able to retain all of the receipts. I have the original pdc contract of the estate option right down to purchase price of the new home. That was the relocation subject and. It's been a it's been a ride. My grandmother and grandfather, my grandfather was a motor and my grandmother was a homemaker. Of course, they relocated to albina as vanport flood victim. My grandfather, you can imagine, was approximately 60 years old at the time of his relocation. Retirement benefits. During that time, early retirement benefits could have been claimed at age 62. So I know that he was probably planning on retiring very shortly after paying his home off. Linly practices at the time were not favorable to blacks, which meant that he ended up having to purchase that albina home on a contract, which I have from payment number one all the way until that entire property was paid off. Original documents. The memories of the time and the albina home. I mean, I just growing up there, I remember the fresh bread aroma from the wonder bread, wonder bread bakery. Excuse me, the neighborhood accountant that lived down the street. The other business owners. My dad was a business owner. That right around the corner that operated a tavern where the foundry workers would bring in all of their checks on fridays and cash their checks and play pool and visit everybody in the neighborhood knew everybody. They also knew stranger danger when it wandered in the neighborhood, and it was policed by those that were around there. The allowed that that home in albina allowed many of my relatives to migrate from alabama to escape the racially challenged south. They allowed them to reside until the migrant gained employment and was able to self support themselves. The house was over 3000ft■!s. The relocated house was 966ft■!s. Te home that once stood that was that was splendidly strategized to help others has now been reduced to a parking lot that houses many, as many as ten cars a day. I do urge you to please pass this this resolution. Those memories, they're haunting. Thank you.
98 Thank you for being here.
99 Miss byrd.
100 Miss martin.
101 Ashlee albies is going to go first, followed by miss byrd.
102 Good afternoon, mayor and city council members. Thank you for being here today. My name is ashley albies. I use she her pronouns and I am a pro bono attorney for the plaintiffs in this case, along with the Oregon law center and legal aid services of Oregon. It has been an absolute honor and a privilege to be a part of this legal team. I want to make a few points in closing before miss byrd speaks. First, as everyone has acknowledged, this is not a class action. It was brought by individuals descended from people who owned houses and were forcibly removed from their homes by the actions of the city, by prosper Portland, and by legacy emanuel hospital, as part of an expansion that never happened, these individuals organized. They worked hard for years. They showed up early. They showed up often meeting after meeting and during negotiations on the resolution of this case. They were creative, they were hardworking, and they pushed and pushed for the resolution. That is before you here today. The second point I want to make is this is not a city initiated process for restitution. This is the product of negotiations between the plaintiffs and the city and prosper's attorney attorneys. And this resolution result is a direct result from the harm to and the commitment of the plaintiffs in this case. The third point I want to make is that all plaintiffs in this case, these directly impacted families, are asking you to pass this ordinance and support it here today. The fourth point I want to make is that this resolution is historic, beyond financial restitution, the settlement includes visible commitments by the city that reflect our values of equity. It provides for preferences for descendants in roles in the care renovation when it happens, a designated space in the keller to express themselves, and annual descendants day to commemorate the history and support for storytelling through a documentary. These are overt steps towards reconciliation and acknowledgment. These 27 plaintiffs joined together with tremendous dedication. Against great odds over many years, they worked to overcome legacy prosper Portland and the city's attempts to dismiss this case. They have been fighting for 60 years for restitution and acknowledgment. And this is one step to addressing these wounds. This historic resolution is important in this moment where the federal government is currently being led by people who deny our country's long history of racism and its impacts. An administration that uses its power to celebrate, elevate and institutionalize bigotry and racism. This settlement explicitly rejects the idea that our past does not impact our present. It is a powerful acknowledgment that we can provide redress for the harms of history, and gives hope that we can and should do better for the future. As james baldwin said in 1962, not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced. The plaintiffs in this case have offered you powerful written and oral testimony here today about the impact of the city and the legacies forced removal of their families. They've lost so much, yet remain incredibly resilient. Listen to them, honor them, honor their stories and their experience. Please approve this resolution. Some of our clients are elderly and have health issues. They deserve closure to this case, a closure that they have chosen and that they have defined for themselves. This resolution is what the plaintiffs want. And please approve this as an emergency ordinance. These community members have waited long enough. Thank you.
103 Thank you. Please go right ahead.
104 My name is bird by. Madam president. It's my understanding. There's been 2.5 hours set aside for this particular item. I'm going to beg your forbearance. I know there's a three minute limit, but this has been 60 years in the making. I would like I would like to take my time. Not too much time. But you all need to know how we got here at some point. Before I start, though, there's some people I need to thank. I need to thank miss thelma glover, who's no longer with us. I need to thank bobby and miss cash, who cannot be here today. But most importantly, there were five people when I first got started on this and I was being called out my name. I was being called everything but bird. There were five people who heard me. Not only did they listen, they stayed. Most of them are in this room right now and y'all know who you are. I thank you because you turned the tide. We would not be here if it were not for you, I thank you, I am humbled. Allow me to take my time. I started studying this history after I met miss thelma glover. I am a librarian. I should let you all know that I hold a master's degree in information and library science. I am a certified researcher and historian. I started studying the history of central albina because that's what we do. Librarians study stuff. We love to read. We just do stuff like that's just what we do. As I studied more, I came across my grandmother's name that propelled me even further. I kept studying, I kept reading the history. I kept accumulating documents. I studied enough to where I discovered a few things. The original aedpa, which stands for emmanuel displaced persons association, the original aedpa filed a complaint against pdc, the city of Portland, during the 60s and 70s when their homes were being demolished. Hud found merit in that complaint and paused the so-called expansion of emmanuel hospital and basically told city entities, you need to make it right by these people. When I discovered that. They stopped funding and this was right around the time the land acquisition and uniform relocation act of 1971 was passed. In order for the city pdc to continue resume funding, they had to do a few things. They had to pay relocation fees for the families that were forcefully removed. That money wasn't readily given. You had to apply for it. The insult. Some people received letters saying, and keep in mind, these were elderly folks. They were established. They had been in their homes 25, 30 years. They were on fixed incomes. Imagine coming home to your house and there's a letter on your door telling you you got 30 days or 60 days to move out. If you can't do it, you have to start paying real market rent on a home you've owned for 30 years. This is what happened in this community. So along with the relocation payments, there was also something I came across that I deem a 1 to 1 federal restitution agreement. But the federal government told city agency and pdc is for every home you all demolished. You have to replace that. We'll resume funding if you agree to this. And that's what happened. We still waiting on that 1 to 1 ratio home replacement. So when I discovered this information I used my own resources I got on airplanes. I visited national archives so that I could acquire documents you can't get right now. Retention schedules do expire. I knew I had to capture documents and I did that, but the next thing I did, again using my own resources, I started having community lectures. You've heard from people who spoke today, who attended those community lectures early on. My number one goal was to inform as many people as I can. I held lectures at the elks club. I talked to neighborhood associations, I talked at universities. I did everything I could do to get the information out to people. And if everyone in here were being honest. If everyone in here was being honest, they would agree that to what I just said. I went on a one woman mission to inform as many people as possible. Then I took it a bit further. I created a psa. We had a video that went viral. This is the real Portland. Some of y'all might be familiar with it. Not only did we do that once, I was able to get attorneys interested in this, we put out a survey and we blasted it everywhere. If your family's home was demolished, fill out this survey and attorney will get in contact with you. We followed up with every single person who filled out that survey when I initially went to my family, when all this was starting, and I told them what I wanted to do, the patriarch of my family, I was cussed out. I have been the victim of facebook scorn. My name has been put on facebook, my phone number. I am being accused of fraudulently using addresses. This is not true. I had to. This thing is so huge. Not only were we homeowners, we were business owners. There were renters. At some point, I'm one person I had to make this manageable for me and my resources. So what I did, Candace, I had to put some parameters around it. Okay, I can only focus on homeowners. So the reason when people say, oh, it's only narrowly focused on these people, maybe those people should have jumped in and helped me. Instead of making up fake reasons to be mad at me, why didn't they roll up their sleeves and say, bird, how much is this costing you? So here we are today. We're looking at this. Agreement as a way for redress, to harm that continues. And allow me to say this. And this is to the ignorant. I've heard people complain. Black people, why are black people getting this? There's other people and other people got theirs. The japanese garden didn't just happen. I could go into other histories, but I'm not going to. What I'm saying is, I just had to address the ignorant. We're here now, today. This is truly a magical moment because everything is here. We're faced with it, and it's up to this body to truly make this right. I've done everything I can do. I've sacrificed. I've sacrificed in ways that I can't describe. This thing is huge. And one thing I want to remind you all of this has never happened before in the history of humankind. What we all are looking at right now, in this moment. Eric, this has never happened. So what are we going to do? That's the question. What are we going to do now? We have the opportunity to truly do something real, not just kick the can down the road. I'm open to any questions.
105 Thank you for that history and for being here today with us and for all of the work that you've put in.
106 That concludes testimony.
107 We now have an opportunity for discussion about the settlement agreement before us. Does anybody have any questions, comments for your colleagues, counselor Green?
108 Thank you, madam president, and thank you to everybody who gave testimony today. Thank you for taking that time. I do have a question for the attorneys. Can we bring forward the attorneys or risk management?
109 If we have questions for you, we'll make sure to call you back up.
110 Thank you, mr. Jordan. It wa, I think, said during the presentation or comment that this settlement does not admit wrongdoing by any of the parties. Is that the case?
111 That is not the case. There is a statement of acknowledgment within the settlement agreement.
112 Okay. One of the things that I'm curious about is. I'll just I'll just leave that alone. I'll process that. Thank you. Okay.
113 Councilor. Is that it?
114 Yes.
115 Okay. Colleagues, any other questions? Comments? Before we move to a vote, counselor Smith.
116 Thank you, madam president. And I want to thank everybody who has testified today and.
117 Told us the history of how we got here today. The history is so important in the history is real, but I want to address the albina displacement lawsuit, proposed settlement agreement that is before us today. The issue of urban renewal displacement has deeply impacted the black community on many levels, as you heard here today, that has been done in the 40s, the 50s, the 60s, the 70s. While the settlement offers some relief, I don't believe it meets the gravity of the moment. And after reviewing the agreement and listening to the public. I do not believe we fully remedy or compensate for the totality of the losses and suffering experienced by those who are affected here today.
118 Come on.
119 While I support the settlement and respect the wishes of the plaintiffs, if they choose to settle at this time. But I must also acknowledge that in my heart and in my spirit, I am troubled that this agreement does not meet the moment or the standard of justice. It is a step, but perhaps not enough of a step in the right direction to fully address the historical and ongoing legacy of displacement rooted in the city of portland's discriminatory policies that impacted black families who were pushed and made to leave the albina neighborhood. So before I decide on supporting this settlement, I would like to talk to some plaintiffs and ask a question. Bird, could you come up, please?
120 I'm just going to.
121 I've heard many things from a lot of people about this settlement. And first off, I want to set the record straight. I only found out about this settlement last week, Friday, when I was in alabama. So let me be clear.
122 I thought they were briefed.
123 I did not have anything to do with negotiating this agreement, because I would not have allowed it to be reduced to $1 million. Let me just say that. Secondly. You all have suffered. You all have taken this upon your back privately. This was not a suit or or a class that was put out there by the city of Portland, or anyone else. And for the record. Mayor keith wilson did take responsibility for what happened. He did not cause these egregious policies to be implemented and to take an entire community, an entire black community from albina. And before I ask you the question, and I thank the mayor for his work, because that was admirable. You didn't have to do that. But the reason why my heart is so full about this, when we take responsibility, we got to do more. We have to do more. Before we go any further with this. You gave us a history lesson, but I don't think people really understood the fact that black people were not allowed to reside in the city of Portland. Okay. We were out. We were put outside the city limits in a place called vanport, and in vanport in 1948, the levees broke, just like in new orleans blew. And then the financial and political and those stakeholders who control cities like ours, they came together and they said, we have to find a place for these black folks to go now. So they identified albina and black people in the black community resided in albina. And as you talk about the conspiracy between emanuel hospital and this city government, that was not us, we hear you up here. We hear you. They conspired to eliminate an entire community. And that is the reason why I believe the gravity of this case is not reflected in the settlement that has been presented to us. I wanted to hear more about people really, really wanting to do this settlement in this moment, at this time. But it didn't sound that way to me. And so I want to ask you this question, bert, do you think this settlement makes you whole?
124 It does not. Commissioner Smith, I have to speak my truth. I didn't come this far to not represent what I know is right. To answer your question, no, it does not.
125 Okay. City attorney robert taylor. It appears to me that there are some apprehensions about this settlement. I need you to walk me down. What the process is. If we want to remand this and have you all go to the table and, and give us something that they can feel whole about within two weeks, that we can vote on this in two weeks. Tell me what the process is. Tell me, how do we do that?
126 Thank you, counselor Smith. For the record, robert taylor, city attorney. And I would just like to acknowledge. The scar that this has on our community. And it is a scar that may not ever heal. And I think what we are wrestling with here today is what do you do about a scar that will never heal? And I have really appreciated all the testimony today. I think it has given us a lot of things to think about. To your point, I think you have a couple of options. One is you could just lay this matter on the table, give us direction to go negotiate with the plaintiffs and their attorneys to try to bring something back to you as soon as possible, depending on what those changes are, we might be able to just simply amend that item that was laid on the table. If it's if the changes are broader than that, we may have to bring a new item before council, and we could probably get it on the 9/12 agenda if there's sufficient support to do that.
127 If we're interested up here in having the dollar amount changed, because I think with the gravity and the weight of this $1 million, like the man said earlier, that's $38,000 a piece for 27 folks. And I think it's less because I calculated with 26 votes and there's some there's some clarity issues that you need to let me know. Are there 27 plaintiffs or are they 26.
128 26 individuals? And then the 27th is the organization.
129 Okay, okay. So that's even less if there was a change in the dollar amount. What would we have to do.
130 If that is the only change that council wants to make, then the agreement that's attached to the ordinance in front of you could be amended to change that dollar amount. If the council is interested in attempting to address that today, that is something they could do. I might request to have a moment to talk with the plaintiff's attorneys, and they, I think, would like an opportunity to talk with their clients. In fairness to them.
131 Do we need a recess for that? Because we have 2.5 hours.
132 We do.
133 Councilor yes.
134 Would you like to move that we recess for 30 minutes?
135 Yes, madam president, is that what? Is that enough time, robert?
136 Yes. So moved or seconded.
137 Thank you. Thank you. Counselor.
138 Counselors, do we have unanimous consent to recess for 30 minutes?
139 Information.
140 Point of information.
141 I just ask, have we. Do we need to talk about the amount or is that something that that the lawyers are going to.
142 They have.
143 To know.
144 Sorry, sorry.
145 But in answer to the question which was do we need to talk about an amount? I think that if we are recessing for the lawyers to negotiate, we should give them maximum flexibility. Right now would be my recommendation.
146 Thank you. Yes. You have counselors.
147 Do we have unanimous consent for a half hour recess? Okay, counselors, we will meet back here at 4:01 p.m.
148 Conference. Yes.
149 Good afternoon. Welcome back. It is 402. We are reconvening today's council meeting. We have our attorneys colleagues at the table, and I think they may have some information for us. From the conversations that have happened over the last half hour. Robert, would you like to introduce yourself and go ahead?
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150 Thank you. Council president robert taylor, city attorney it's been a productive half an hour. We have received some information from the plaintiffs, and I think it would be useful to have a discussion with counsel and executive session so we can decide our path forward.
151 Okay, counselors, do we have do we need a motion or can we just go into executive session.
152 You can announce it.
153 Great. Counselors. Is there are there any concerns with moving into executive session?
154 Would this be a point of order?
155 I will, I will, I will yeah, I will say that I just want to make sure that everyone is good to go into executive session. So I see that attorneys for the plaintiffs are just coming back in. Our attorney has recommended that we move into an executive session to hear a little bit more about what the conversations have been between the two of you over the last half hour. So the Portland city council will move into an executive session pursuant to Oregon revised statute 192.66 02h, which allows the council to meet in executive session to consult with legal counsel concerning the legal rights and duties of a public body with regard to current litigation. Representatives of the news media and designated staff are allowed to attend the executive session. Council will move to the rose room, two floors up, to hold our executive session. Members of the public are welcome to wait here in council chambers. During the executive session. Representatives of the news media are allowed to attend. However, they are specifically directed not to report on or otherwise disclose any of the deliberations or anything said about these subjects during the executive session, except to state the general subject of the session. As previously announced, no decision may be made in executive session and at the end of the executive session, council will return to our open session here in council chambers. I believe this executive session will last about 20 minutes. Does that sound right, mr. Taylor?
156 Let's give that a try.
157 Okay. We're going to try to do this in about 20 minutes. Colleagues to our guests who are here in the room with us today. We will be back here. If we are not done in about 20 minutes, we will make sure to send somebody down to give an update both to the public watching online and to you all in the room on time. And with that, I will recess our regular council meeting.
158 And.
159 Everyone in chambers. Still, we just heard from the council president about 20 more minutes.
160 Not surprising.
161 I should.
162 Yeah, she was just coming out when she was trying to figure out. So.
163 Yeah, I was just about to.
164 Hi, folks. Just another quick update we got. We just got an estimate of another ten minutes. Apologies. I'll keep trying to get more detailed and let you know as soon as I do. You're welcome.
165 You have any snacks? I do.
166 But not.
167 Enough to share for everybody. I'm thinking about change to have.
168 I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to do anything about that yesterday also. So maybe Elana. I'm just standing around.
169 That's.
170 Can you mute us?
171 Thank you all for your patience with us today. Council is reconvening in our council meeting. Looks like everybody is back. Councilors. When we left our meeting, we were in the middle of debate over agenda item 16, an emergency ordinance authorizing our attorney to settle a lawsuit related to the historic, historic central albina displacement. And councilor Smith had the floor. Councilor Smith, do you want to continue before we move on to somebody else in the queue?
172 We can go ahead with someone else in the queue. I will be talking a little bit later.
173 Councilor Morillo did you have anything to add right now or was that hand no longer relevant?
174 I think that was before we had the discussion, and I think it sounds like, you know, folks have been dealing with this lawsuit for a long time. So I suggest we move forward and give them the answer they deserve today quickly.
175 Okay, councilors, we are still working on some text for some things behind the scenes. So if anybody does have comments that they'd like to make right now. Councilor Kanal.
176 Yeah, I'll just.
177 Maybe rhetorically ask given who's in the room or not. But I was troubled by something that happened earlier when councilor Smith noted that that we had not been consulted as a council on this, and I heard the reaction in the room and the idea that there would be an implication given and potentially more than an implication by anybody who represents the city. And I don't know if this is the case or not. That council was conveying an amount that was sufficient or not sufficient is simply inaccurate. I also did not learn about it. I think I can safely say you can read everyone else's body language up here if they don't say it explicitly in terms of how long we knew about it, I am troubled if anyone is speaking on behalf of council, and I just want to say that as well and appreciate councilor Smith bringing that to light, because had we talked about this, it might have gone a slightly different way than it's going right now, and there might be a little bit less uncertainty that we're trying to clarify and clear up. But also, I think we may not have caused further harm by indicating that council had a lesser valuation of the previous harms done than those who are plaintiffs in this case. I just wanted to note that.
178 Thank you, councilor.
179 Thank you.
180 All ready for us to continue. Yes. Okay. Councilors, I'm not currently seeing anyone in the queue. Councilor the language that she needs.
181 I don't have the language yet, but just from a general standpoint on some issues that we've we've talked about and, and we must also recognize our broader obligation concerning the other 300 families who are displaced by cities, including, you know, race based zoning laws, unconscionable urban renewal policies and ill advised use of eminent domain. These policies, although very tough to listen to, deliberately marginalize black communities and left lasting scars when residents were pushed out of albina without reparations, leaving an indelible mark on our city's history. And we have a new council today. We have new ears. We have new eyes in our response must be deliberate, comprehensive and rooted in fairness and justice so that both sides feel they they engaged in good faith negotiations. And this issue is not solely about monetary reparations. It is a moral imperative to restore dignity and to rebuild trust, and to foster resilience within affected communities as we deliberate. So I urge each of us to consider how can justice be adequately, inappropriately quantified, and what measures can we implement to prevent future displacements? So our collective responsibility is clear to advance efforts towards community recovery and healing, and to pursue restorative justice that lays the groundwork for a more equitable Portland for everyone. And that's what I hope that can come from. Today's proceedings, because this is not just an ordinary risk claim. This is about people, families being uprooted, moved from one community to the next, coming from a space where they were traumatized when they were flooded in vanport and moving to albina, and again moved again and again. And so for me, this is this is not ordinary. But extraordinary circumstances happen to ordinary people. And so we have to do extraordinary things to make the harm be lessened than what it is. I didn't expect today to be as big as it was. I wrote it because I knew that it was big, but it wasn't really felt until I listened to the testimony, until I really saw the faces of the people. I know some of you, but I know your parents and your grandparents, right. And. Knowing that it takes some savviness to get to where you are. And so I appreciate the leaders of this group, the leaders who who understood that they're going to have to spend some time and some money and resources, and you all did that. So for me, I think just waiting just a little bit longer to hear what we're going to say will be helpful. But understanding there was a third leg to this component that we have to restore to the community at large. We won't be able to help each and every person, but we definitely can identify policies and procedures that will increase and help communities who need to have down payment assistance, who need workforce development, who need to understand the policies of the cities. We have a number of things that we already have in place that we just need to let you know what we're doing. So I just want to thank all of you all for coming today and for persevering, because this was 60 years for sure. And the gravity of this moment is going to be historical. It is already historical. And I don't know when we all signed up for this. The 98 people who ran for council, if we ever thought that we were going to be in this kind of space. Making these kinds of decisions immediately. So thank you. If you just give us a little bit more time, I'm waiting for. I want to thank my chief of staff. That was elijah crawford. Madam president, councilor. I'd like to do a motion to amend the settlement agreement as follows.
182 Okay. Okay.
183 I'd like to strike the sum of $2 million on page one of exhibit a and amend exhibit a to read as follows. In the sum of $7.5 million from the city and $1 million from prosper Portland. Second. Section one payment will then read in exchange for the release of claims set forth in section eight below. Within 14 calendar days after the effective date, as defined in section 16, the effective date period, municipal defendants will make payments to plaintiffs plaintiffs payable by check or wire transfer to the abbeys and stark trust account in the sum of $7.5 million and $1 million from prosper Portland. These payments, along with. The terms and conditions below, shall be in full and final settlement of plaintiffs claims that are being released in section seven below. Thank you. Can I get a second?
184 Seconded.
185 God's good.
186 Counselors, we have a motion on the table and a second. 60 years, y'all. 60 years.
187 On the motion.
188 I just have one thing to say. And that is, thank you for your leadership, councilor Smith. And thank you for your leadership. Councilor Avalos, I fully support this. I think this is the beginning of something that we must do better in our city.
189 Right?
190 Thank you Loretta.
191 Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you. Councilors.
192 My mic's not working. Does anybody else have any discussion on the amendment?
193 Okay, well, I'm going.
194 To take the opportunity for a little discussion because I suspect other folks are going to say a lot when they vote. And by the time we get to me, nobody wants to listen to anybody say anything anymore. As a councilor from district two, I feel a unique sense of duty to make sure that we own our history and colleagues. Our history has left a hole in our district and as we heard, it is a physical hole, a place that is not homes and is not businesses and is not parks or other intentional space. But it is also much more than a physical hole. It is a gaping hole in community. It's a shadow, a whisper of what was once family homes, neighborhood businesses, and a network of community who got to live in proximity to their family and friends and build something together. And that was taken. And it was taken not by accident. It happened through public policy, through urban renewal and eminent domain and rezoning and decisions made by government, including by our predecessors on this city council. And it displaced black portlanders and disrupted generational progress. And as we heard today, the redevelopment that was promised never even came in some cases. So I want to acknowledge the families who have carried this fight and this pain and this process through years of negotiations. And I want to be clear that this settlement is not a full restoration, because it never can be. But nonetheless, it is important when our attorneys colleagues bring us a settlement, I typically trust their careful balancing of our legal responsibilities and the limitations of what is possible. And I generally would not amend that. But this case calls for us to do something different, not just legally, but morally. So I want to thank our colleague, councilor Smith, for putting forward a proposal that helps us to do more for these plaintiffs today. And I want to affirm my commitment to doing more, not just today, but as we move forward, not just for but with the black community in my district and across our city. If we're serious about rebuilding trust in our city, we must continue to act with transparency, accountability, and urgency to create a stronger, more just future for all of our communities. Thank you for bringing this forward and you will have my support.
195 Thank you.
196 Oh, and now I have to put on my council president hat and say please, no clapping during a council meeting. I'm sorry. Councilor Avalos, would you like to speak to the motion on the table?
197 Yes.
198 I'm emotional. I'm angry. I'm so angry. And I didn't want to cry. I don't like to cry in public. But you deserve to feel my anger and my sadness for what? You. What? We were robbed from. And this is not enough. It's not enough. I would take every cent from the city if I could and give it to you I would, but this is the beginning. I'm so proud to be sitting here, because these rooms have not had people like me and councilor Smith. But we're here now and we're going to fight for you. This is the beginning, and I want you to hold not only us, everybody on this dais to that you keep showing up, and I'm going to fight until you get back everything you deserve. Thank you.
199 Councilors, is there any more discussion before we move to a vote? Okay. Counselor Zimmerman.
200 Miss berg. I, I want to tip my hat at you as well. I think that carrying a burden for 26 people is no easy task. And I think that any person who takes on a hard task also has detractors. And I know that you took on a big burden, and I want to appreciate your words that you shared with us today. I appreciate that the council president indulged us to allow that time to happen, because I think your words and your story and your devotion to history were things that resonated with me. Finding a grandparent's name in a history book, or I think the example you gave about asking elderly people to engage in a system that they'd been rejected from already was important for me to hear. As a lifelong portlander, and I just am deeply appreciative for the work and the burden that you've taken on as a leader amongst peers. And so I want to cite that. And I think the importance of us recognizing that there are names on the settlement like prosper, Portland, city of Portland, Portland development commission. But the only thing that really matters is that everybody who was affected by this change 50 some years ago knew it was the city of Portland. They acted before the city of Portland and were acting for the city of Portland today. And that's what matters. And my. Continued appreciation for councilor Smith, my longtime colleague, my longtime friend for guidance in part of the community that I look to for guidance, for aspects of our history is always valued. And I appreciate that so very much. So thank you, councilor Smith, and thank you, miss bird.
201 Thank you. Councilor. Councilors, would anybody else like to join the queue for discussion? Okay, mr. Mayor, would you like to say something before we vote? Yes, go right ahead.
202 Certainly unusual. It's the first time I've taken this privilege, and I think it's an apt opportunity to do that. I just wanted to thank the attorneys in this matter. Both the Oregon law center, a lot of them worked pro bono. So it's an extraordinary time commitment that they made. And they made to miss byrd, to the city attorneys. Robert. And so I know it's difficult. They came in to me. I think it was the second or third week as a new mayor. And when they brought this forward, I was incredibly proud to have it at my desk. Having been born at emanuel and my mom went to boise. Eliot. So you can see it was important and emotional. But there is one thing that was said to me last year, and it was from michael alexander, one of our black communities leaders, and he had said that when it comes to leadership and leaders that elected leaders, local and national, aren't responsible for the past, but they're responsible for the actions they make today. And this is one of those actions that we made today from the council that I'm very proud to stand with all of you. So I admire you and thank you to all the people who are involved. I know the difficulties, but it's nice to get some positive momentum in this discussion and kind of taking those wrongs and turning them to rights, or at least not rights, but taking responsibility. So thank you. Thank you, council president.
203 Thank you, mr. Mayor. Rebecca, could you please call the roll and councilors, as a reminder, we are voting on the amendment as put forth by councilor Smith, seconded by councilor Avalos, to increase the number in the emergency ordinance from 2 million to 8.5 million. I will note that while we don't yet have agreement over the split of that new number with prosper Portland, we do have nods from, I believe, the mayor and the city administrator that they will be working with prosper to figure out how prosper pays their fair share of those funds as we move forward. Rebecca.
204 Madam president. But it will not stop us from next month giving them their check.
205 Absolutely not. We are. We are voting on that amount of money today on the back end. I just want to note for the record that on the back end, we are having conversations with prosper. The city is making a commitment here today.
206 Okay.
207 Thank you.
208 Absolutely. Rebecca, could you please call the roll?
209 Canal?
210 I'll keep my comments to the full ordinance. I'll just say on the amendment, I vote yes.
211 Brian. I Koyama Lane. I Morillo.
212 The easiest yes I've ever given.
213 Wow. Wow.
214 Novick I.
215 Clark.
216 I Green.
217 I.
218 Zimmerman.
219 Yes.
220 Avalos.
221 I.
222 Dunphy I.
223 Smith I.
224 Pirtle-guiney I.
225 And the amendment is approved with 12 I votes councilors.
226 We have before us the amended version of agenda item 16. Is there any discussion? Councilor seeing no discussion. We will move to a vote. Rebecca, could you please call the roll?
227 Canal.
228 So the median wealth for white households in America in 2024 was $285,000. For black households, it was 45,000. And the largest source of that difference is homeownership. When you take away people's homes and land, you take away the ability to build generational wealth. 26 survivors and descendants sued the city for the government sponsored displacement in the albina district, with 3000 portlanders were displaced from albina in the 1960s and 70s. And so let me say, for those that are not part of this group of 26, you are not forgotten. Renters are not forgotten. It's a little outside the scope of this, but we will happy to continue this conversation. But 3000 portlanders were displaced in the 60s, 50, 6070s. I had the privilege last week of reading the vanport day of remembrance proclamation, and I thank the mayor for delegating that task to me. And in in the displays there, some of those who have been displaced from vanport in 1948, the footnote was that they were displaced to albina, and so vanport became one of one of the prequels to this displacement. This was a pattern, this was intentional. This was systematic. This is among the worst things we've ever done as a city. It should result in us paying out a larger settlement. $1 million does not buy us absolution. It wouldn't have replaced the homes that were lost for each of these individual plaintiffs, moving to 8.5 million total does not buy us absolution, either. But it begins the process of making people whole. I'm aware that this settlement opens the door to future lawsuits. I would also say we should not be waiting to be sued by 26 people here, 28 plaintiffs there, four plaintiffs there. We do not owe justice only to the people who can afford an attorney. We should be proactively creating a plan for restitution and rectification of the harms done to everyone displaced as a result of the city's systemic, discriminatory zoning, housing and lending practices. And this is also an opportunity for our city to make a statement and be a model for what restorative justice can look like. The mayor of tulsa just announced $105 million tulsa massacre black wall street reparations initiative that will invest in housing assistance and homeownership, scholarships, small business grants and land developments, as well as cultural preservation and revitalization in the greenwood area. And we should look at an example as that as an example, we can do better. We must do better not because someone is forcing us to, but because equity and accountability are part of our guiding values as a city, because we acknowledge Oregon and Portland uniquely as history of exclusion. And we're dedicated to rebuilding trust through reconciliation and restorative justice. I am very aware of the immense responsibility placed on my colleagues and I to represent district two north and northeast Portland, with its legacy and unique history. I live in district two because when I was a teenager in the suburbs, I would come to albina and I would see people who look like me hanging out on alberta and mississippi and so many places that we all know. I live in district two because I fell in love with this community because of what is left of the black community in north and northeast Portland. I'm incredibly grateful for the opportunity to do the right thing here with my colleagues. I look forward to continuing to do it with all of you, I vote yes.
229 Ryan.
230 Thank you all for being here. Thank you for your perseverance. This is momentous. I vote I.
231 Koyama Lane. While this is a challenging situation, it's no more challenging than what was lost by the families represented here and those still unrepresented who lost their homes, assets and community as a result of white supremacy culture. The remaining question for our council up here today is how do we continue to do the work to repair the wrongdoing of past councils? It's not a question we can solve quickly or easily. It is one that I'm fully prepared to engage in. I believe it starts with this settlement today. I'm proud to serve with my colleagues up here on this dais who have shown up today ready and willing to listen and act, I proudly vote, I.
232 Morillo I'm very grateful for everybody who came here today. Bird, you represented all of the people that you that came with this lawsuit, with such grace and such. Just you were just phenomenal. And I'm very grateful for everything that you've done to put all of that research and information together. And for everybody who came here to talk to us and city councilors about what it is that you want and need. And this lawsuit does not restore everything that should be restored. This is a first step, and I want to say this is a first step. We are going to do a lot more. This is a different city council than we've ever had before. We have fighters like Loretta and candice up here who wear their hearts on their sleeves. Candice, don't look at me. You're going to make me cry. And just seeing everybody here in these halls today made me really happy. The energy shifted having you here, and I hope that you continue showing up and sharing your voices and know that you will be received with care and love and that we're going to listen to you and that things are going to be different this time around. And councilor Kanal is correct. There's a lot more work to be done, and we are prepared and ready to do it with all of our hearts and our spirits. And thank you to everyone. I see the attorneys over there crying too, because you put all this work in. I know how much work it takes for the Oregon law center to get some of that stuff done, and I'm going to stop talking now because I think you deserve your money. So I vote, I.
233 Novick we appreciate.
234 Everyone who came here today. Appreciate all of your and my colleagues comments for the history that led us to this date. I do have to say one thing in response to councilor Kanal though, which is councilor Kanal says that justice should not be given only to those who can afford an attorney. So I just want to remind us all that the attorneys who worked in this matter worked pro bono and not for payment, and I want to acknowledge them as well. I.
235 Clark.
236 Thank you. Ditto everything my colleagues have said. It really is a historic moment, but it's also just very symbolic and I'm happy to be a part of it. I'm proud to be a part of it. I'm proud for Portland right now, but I also want to thank my friend, councilor Loretta Smith. There is I don't know if you ever watch the geese that fly by overhead the wild geese, and there's always a v formation and councilor. Loretta Smith is the v in the v formation. So thank you so much. And I vote aye.
237 Thank you.
238 Green I might also cry but that's okay I want to thank you bird. I want to thank you all for being here today and seeing this fight across the finish line for this piece of the story. You all have borne a burden for a really long time. Far too long. Urban renewal was intentionally racist. Let's name that. The word blight, which is what Oregon revised statute 455 is built upon, is and was racist. Rising tides do not lift all boats in the institutional context of racialized capitalism, and that's the world we live in. So today does not solve those problems and those issues. We still have urban renewal because we have created six new tif districts. That work is not done, but I'm going to take the charge that I have heard from my colleagues councilor Avalos, councilor Smith councilor Kanal my job is to uplift your fight because you guys fight hard for your communities, and I want to be there for you for that fight. So in my leadership role in the arts and economy committee, I'm going to make sure that we're intentionally, intentionally replacing and sweeping away what is left of urban renewal in this city and truly reimagine something that when we fire up those new tif districts, we're doing something that doesn't just reproduce history and create more displacement. So that is my commitment to you. To you, I vote yes.
239 Zimmerman.
240 Thank you. I think that often we hold up home ownership as a path to the American dream. And I think these instances let us know that, dear mr. Hughes, what happens to a dream deferred remains a question. Thank you. I vote I.
241 Avalos. Thank you to all of you.
242 Thank you.
243 Thank you for your hard work. And with this vote, I want to affirm that I am here to fight for you. And I love all of you very much. I vote aye.
244 Thank you.
245 Candice Dunphy.
246 Yeah, I'm incredibly proud to stand with my amazing district one colleagues, councilor, Smith and Avalos, in advancing restorative justice for the displaced from those displaced from the albina district. Like my other colleagues have already said, I'm committed to ensuring that the city actively engages in a process that encourages more individuals to come forward and to participate in meaningful reconciliation. So I vote I.
247 Smith.
248 Many of you like bird and others who heard me speak at Multnomah county. You often heard me talk about my aunties. And you all know that I used to work for senator wyden, and he used to say, it's everybody, your auntie here. Yes, but I have a special group of aunties that I wouldn't have if it wasn't for arthur and fentrice Smith. My grandfather moved here in 1944 to work in the kaiser shipyards from brooklyn, new york. He had seven kids, six girls and one boy, and that was my dad. And I wouldn't be here today in Portland if it wasn't for my grandparents. When we were displaced from cook street, and that was well before. I was born. My grandfather was a porter. After he left the shipyards and he retired as a porter. So during that time period, there were very few jobs that black men could get. They either worked in the shipyards, they were on the railroad, they were doormen for hotels. Worked, as you know, folks who showed people to their seats at the keller auditorium. And I've never told this story because I'm so very proud of my family. But I try to keep my personal and my professional separate. But I'm going to tell you today is a good day. And. They call my grandfather rock. And I was his favorite granddaughter. But don't say that to his other 50 grandkids. Rock and fannie would be so happy and proud of me today. The chance to see me in elected office. But my grandfather did get a chance to see me working for senator wyden. But if he was here today, he would turn over in his grave because he paid $15,000 for an old Portland style house on cleveland street that is still our family home. If he knew that his house was worth about $850,000, he would turn over in his grave. But he had the foresight, and he told us never to sell that house and we haven't sold it. And that is why my aunties today still can live in northeast Portland. So I thank my grandparents for coming to Portland, Oregon. And we did go through some things. But guess what? We are here on the other side. And I want to thank all of y'all for hanging in there, because this is tough stuff and we're for it. We're all here for it. And I want to thank my colleagues. You all. You surprised me all the time. Madam president, you're a star.
249 Wow, wow.
250 You are. I saw you from day one. I knew who you were, and I appreciate you. So. Thank you. Thank you so much. Thank all of you. And I say yes, yes, yes.
251 Thank you, thank you.
252 Pirtle-guiney.
253 Yes.
254 The ordinance is passed as amended with 12 I votes.
255 That's unanimous folks.
256 Councilors.
257 That was the last item on our agenda. I'm sure folks have many conversations to have right now. Thank you all for sticking with us for a little bit longer than we thought we were going to go today, so we could get that extra work done. Thank you to our staff for sticking with us a little longer than we thought we were going to go today so we could get this very, very important work done. And with that, I adjourn our meeting.
258 Hallelujah.