Though they joined their colleagues to approve a $400,000 settlement agreement with St. Timothy Episcopal Church, Brookings city councilors Clayton Malmberg and Andy Martin registered their frustration with the way things turned out.

Coming six months after a federal judge ruled that city ordinance on when organizations can feed the hungry was a substantial burden on the church’s exercise of its religious beliefs, both city councilors said they felt residents near St. Timothy’s were the ones who lost.

“It all kind of stems from not being a good neighbor, in my opinion, and not working with your community to find a path forward and address the needs while minimizing the impacts,” Malmberg said. “I appreciate the church and community leaders that tried to do this and find a balance. I think it’s sad and unfortunate one group thought it was necessary to go this route rather than work together.”

In addition to agreeing to pay $357,000 to Stoel Rives LLP, who represented St. Timothy, and $43,000 to the Oregon Justice Resource Center, the settlement also resulted in the repeal of the city’s benevolent meal service ordinance. The city also agreed to withdraw the April 2023 abatement notice it issued to the church in response to its other social services such as its legal aid ministry.

In exchange, the church would withdraw the appeal of that abatement notice to the Oregon Land Use Board of Appeals.

Brookings’ benevolent meal service ordinance allowed organizations to feed the hungry in residential neighborhoods with a conditional use permit. The ordinance, which was initially adopted in October 2021 and amended in November 2023, stated that organizations could serve meals to the public up to three days per week between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. and that meal services could last no more than two hours per day.

The church, which had been offering free lunches at its Fir Street property since 2009, filed a federal lawsuit on Jan. 28, 2022. In its lawsuit, the church stated that the benevolent meal service ordinance impinged on their rights to practice the central tenets of their faith.

On March 27, 2024, U.S. Magistrate Mark D. Clarke ruled in St. Timothy’s favor.

St. Timothy's pastor, the Reverend Bernie Lindley, said the judge's ruling affirmed the church's position.

"We knew what we were doing, within the context of the church, that we were doing it in good faith," he told the Wild Rivers Outpost on Friday. "And now we've finally resolved the whole thing."

On Monday, Martin said he agreed with Malmberg and that the winners in the case was the law firm that is collecting the attorneys fees.

“The losers are the people in this neighborhood that have had to deal with this,” he said. “But we have to live with the judge’s decision even though I disagree with the judge’s decision.”

According to the city’s staff report, the church and Brookings had been negotiating the settlement agreement for the past several months.

SHARE →