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   From: stillnumber1@foxnews.com   
      
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   PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Portland will remove tents blocking sidewalks under   
   a tentative settlement announced Thursday in a lawsuit brought by people   
   with disabilities who said sprawling homeless encampments prevent them   
   from navigating Oregon's most populous city.   
      
   The federal class action lawsuit, filed in September, alleged that the   
   city violated the American with Disabilities Act by allowing tents to   
   obstruct sidewalks. The plaintiffs included a caretaker and nine people   
   with disabilities who use wheelchairs, scooters, canes and walkers to get   
   around. The settlement still requires approval from the City Council and   
   the U.S. District Court in Portland.   
      
   The settlement comes as City Council prepares to consider new restrictions   
   on camping. The updates to the city's camping code would ban camping   
   between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. in many locations, including sidewalks. Mayor   
   Ted Wheeler plans to present the ordinance Wednesday. The City Council   
   previously voted in November to gradually ban street camping and create at   
   least three large, designated campsites where homeless people will be   
   allowed to camp.   
      
   Under the tentative lawsuit settlement, the city must prioritize removing   
   tents that block sidewalks and clear at least 500 sidewalk-blocking   
   encampments every year for the next five years. If there are fewer than   
   500 such campsites in a given year, the city will be found to be in   
   compliance if it clears all that are blocking sidewalks.   
      
   The city must operate a 24-hour hotline for reporting tents that are   
   blocking sidewalks and create an online reporting portal where people can   
   upload photos. It will create a publicly accessible database of reported   
   campsites and actions taken in response.   
      
   Portland will also limit its distribution of tents to homeless people and   
   post “no camping” signs in areas where sidewalks are frequently blocked.   
      
   “People with disabilities deserve to use transportation corridors to   
   pursue their daily activities unimpeded,” one of the plaintiffs'   
   attorneys, John DiLorenzo, said in an email, adding that he was hopeful   
   the settlement would make it easier for people with disabilities to   
   navigate the city.   
      
   Under the tentative deal, the city will not admit wrongdoing or liability.   
      
   The settlement is expected to be presented to the City Council next week.   
      
   “I strongly believe that everyone should have access to sidewalks to   
   navigate the City safely, and this is especially true for Portlanders with   
   mobility challenges," Mayor Ted Wheeler said in an emailed statement. "The   
   settlement that will come before Council next week will help prioritize   
   the City’s efforts to ensure accessibility to sidewalks.”   
      
   The plaintiffs who brought the lawsuit described how unnavigable sidewalks   
   complicate their lives and sometimes put them in harm's way.   
      
   Among them is Steve Jackson, who is legally blind and uses a cane to walk.   
   He said tents prevent him from navigating the sidewalk and accessing bus   
   stops.   
      
   “Often there’s tents blocking the entire sidewalk, where I don’t see them   
   because they weren’t there the day before, and I hit the tent and then   
   people are mad at me and think I’m attacking them,” Jackson said during a   
   news conference in September.   
      
   About 13% of Portlanders live with a disability, according to the lawsuit,   
   including 6% with mobility impairments and 2.4% with visual impairments.   
      
   The city must devote at least $8 million in the 2023-2024 fiscal year to   
   making sure the conditions of the settlement are met, and at least $3   
   million annually for the following four fiscal years, according to a copy   
   of the settlement shared with reporters by DiLorenzo. It has also agreed   
   to pay $5,000 to each of the 10 plaintiffs and reasonable attorney fees.   
      
   Oregon’s homelessness crisis has been fueled by an affordable housing   
   shortage, a lack of mental health treatment, high drug addiction rates and   
   the coronavirus pandemic.   
      
   In Multnomah County, home to Portland, there were more than 5,000 people   
      
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    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)