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A group of neighbors and business owners in the Pearl District is proposing a warehouse solution to the Right 2 Dream Too conflict.

Instead of the outdoor tent camp originally proposed for the vacant lot beneath the Lovejoy on-ramp of the Broadway Bridge, the Pearl Group – a consortium of Pearl District residents led by Williams/Dame & Associates, Hoyt Street Properties, ZIBA Design and the Pearl District Neighborhood Association – is proposing a number of warehouses in and around downtown as a temporary shelter. The group is reportedly studying several options, though it declined to provide specific locations.

ÌýJohn Mangan, spokesperson for the group, said the proposal stems from a legal path the group has identified that allows warehouses to qualify as interim homeless facilities. The code, he said, permits such interim activities on a short term basis – likely up to a year.

The homeless camp R2DToo has been operating without a permit on the corner of Northwest Fourth Avenue and West Burnside Street since 2011. After accruing more than $20,000 in fines, it sued the city for what the nonprofit believed was improper penalization. In September, Commissioner Amanda Fritz announced a settlement agreement that would drop the fines if the camp moved to the Pearl District lot. Nearby businesses protested, which led to the Pearl Group’s search for alternatives.

In a prepared statement, Dike Dame, president of Williams & Dame Development, said the warehouse alternative responds to the needs of R2DToo without subjecting them to the uncertainty of another legal conflict. Other benefits include an indoor facility close to downtown services, with access to utilities and restroom facilities. Mangan said the group might also have access to a shuttle that the R2DToo people could use.

While the Pearl Group has yet to reach a deal with the city, it hopes to do so in the coming weeks. Tiffany Sweitzer, president of Hoyt Street Properties, said the debate over where to put the camp has been a time-consuming one, requiring as many as three meetings per day out of her schedule. She hopes the city will consider the group’s idea.

“We’re working very hard on solutions,” she said. “It’s a very frustrating process and we need the city to step up here. This is not about the NIMBY-ism of not in my neighborhood. It’s about what is the best thing to do as a city versus the short term solution of throwing people under a bridge … I think the mayor is trying to work with us on a long-term solution, but there’s no final solution yet. So stay tuned because I think it’s even changing as early as today.”