PORTLAND, Ore. (PORTLAND TRIBUNE) — Owners of unreinforced masonry buildings in Portland are threatening to sue the city over the recent requirement to post signs they could collapse in earthquakes.
Portland lawyer John DiLorenzo sent a letter to the council on Tuesday saying he will file suit in federal court if the council does not repeal the requirement. DiLorenzo says the signs will unfairly reduce the value of the buildings.
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DiLorenzo is representing Masonry Buildings Owners of Oregon, a trade group representing landlords of such buildings. In his letter, DiLorenzo said, “We will contend that by so doing, the Ordinance violates the First Amendment and free speech clause and the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendment Due Process Clauses to the United States Constitution.”
DiLorenzo says the council also mistakenly applied the requirement only to building owners who had already taken out permits to upgrade their buildings, penalizing those meaning to address the problems instead of all such landlords.
“It’s a huge mistake,” says DiLorenzo.