Portland to vote on $350,000 legal settlement linked to lawsuit over earthquake warning signs

Unreinforced masonry building (URM) warning sign

An earthquake warning sign hangs on an unreinforced masonry building in North Portland. The signs aren't yet required for most buildings under a city ordinance, and a lawsuit aims to keep it that way.Elliot Njus/Staff

The Portland City Council will vote next week on whether to pay $350,000 in attorneys’ fees for a nonprofit coalition of brick building owners who sued the city last year so they wouldn’t be forced to put signs on their structures warning they are seismically unsafe.

The settlement comes after commissioners voted in October to end the warning sign rule -- spurred by a federal judge siding with the plaintiffs five months earlier and ordering the policy be put on hold indefinitely to prevent possible constitutional rights violations. The city policy, originally approved in October 2018, required building owners to notify prospective rental tenants if the structure is made up unreinforced masonry.

“Based on the successful outcome of the suit, plaintiffs are entitled to their reasonable attorney’s costs and fees,” said a city ordinance outlining the terms of the agreement.

A deputy city attorney declined to comment on the proposed settlement. Three attorneys representing the masonry building owners of Oregon did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The lawsuit remains active as of Friday, court records show.

The policy affected more than 1,600 structures in the city that were deemed likely to partially or fully collapse in a big earthquake. The buildings on average are 90 years old.

The building owners argued that being required to post placards on their front doors violated their First and 14th Amendment Rights because they were forced to promote the city’s message and were denied opportunities to appeal.

Other opponents said requiring high-cost seismic upgrades could foster gentrification.

-- Everton Bailey Jr.

ebailey@oregonian.com | 503-221-8343 |@EvertonBailey

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