IE Business Daily Business news for the Inland Empire.
Palm Springs has paid $5.9 million to survivors and descendants of Section 14, a one-square-mile parcel from which African American and Latino resident were unfairly evicted during the 1950s and 1960s.
The settlement fulfills the agreement approved by the city council in November, and resolves a decades-long dispute regarding the city’s actions in redeveloping the land next to downtown, according to a statement on the city’s website.
“The comprehensive agreement provides direct financial compensation, housing and business investment programs, and cultural initiatives that honor the legacy of the Section 14 community and represent a continued step toward reconciliation,” the statement reads.
Approved Oct. 7, the settlement depended on the city receiving at 1,200 signed legal waivers. The city had received nearly 1,500 legal waivers related to the Section 14 dispute.
By signing a legal waiver, a party in a legal dispute agrees to drop its claim.
The settlement also includes $20 million in affordable housing programs that will be developed during the next 10 years, with priority to be given to Section 14 families, according to the statement.
