A list of plaintiffs known as Safe & Livable Portland won't pursue a lawsuit against Mayor Charlie Hales after he decided to end a policy that allowed homeless people to camp overnight on public property.

Hales discontinued his controversial "safe sleep guidelines" Tuesday after a review of the six-month pilot project that began in February.

The guidelines permitted people in groups of up to six between the hours of 9 p.m. and 7 a.m. to set up tents in some public spaces or sleep on sidewalks. But the policy caused confusion, Hales said, leading some to believe that camping was legal in Portland.

The plaintiffs' lawsuit, filed in April, called Hales' plan "impractical" and "irrational," with no chance of solving the city's homelessness crisis.

The plaintiffs included the Portland Business Alliance, the Building Owners and Managers Association of Oregon, Central Eastside Industrial Council, the Overlook Neighborhood Association, the Pearl District Neighborhood Association and Cartlandia, a food-cart pod located along the Springwater Corridor.

"Telling people to sleep on the streets is not humane," their complaint read. "In fact, it is the opposite of humane; as recent events have shown, the Mayor's Camping Policy has resulted in violence, unhealthy conditions, and pain and suffering for our most vulnerable residents."

A Multnomah County judge dismissed the lawsuit last month, but gave the plaintiffs the option of filing an amended complaint with specific examples making clear how the policy affected them.

Attorneys for the plaintiffs told The Oregonian/OregonLive on Monday they planned to re-file on Wednesday. The mayor's announcement changed that.

The plaintiffs' group issued a statement Tuesday night saying it would not pursue the case further.

"We said from the beginning that if the Mayor would withdraw this illegal policy we'd drop our lawsuit, so we will not be filing an amended complaint today," lawyer Paul Conable, who represented the plaintiffs, wrote in an email Wednesday morning.

Chris Trejbal, a board member of North Portland's Overlook Neighborhood Association, said while neighbors were pleased to see the safe sleep guidelines tossed, they worry the mayor won't enforce the city's camping ordinance.

"On the ground, we have no expectation of change," he said.

Overlook residents have expressed repeated concerns over Hazelnut Grove, a homeless camp that formed last year near the intersection of North Greeley Avenue and Interstate Avenue. Trejbal said the neighborhood continues to feel frustrated by a lack of communication with the mayor's office.

Still, he said, the neighborhood group agreed with the other plaintiffs that, in light of the mayor's announcement, it made sense not to move forward with the case.

Read the group's statement in full:

"The goal of the Safe & Livable Portland coalition has always been to put an end to Mayor Hales' unlawful camping policy that contributed to the health and safety crisis in the City. Mayor Hales' decision to end his failed camping policy is a step in the right direction. To that end, the coalition will not file its amended complaint against the City.

"However, today's decision does not change the fact that every night, 1,800 Portlanders are still sleeping on the streets.

"Mayor Hales' policy failed, in part, because he ignored the voices of the affected Portland residents, neighborhood communities and businesses. We look forward to a renewed focus from the City to include the community in finding effective ways to offer safe, long-term housing and support for those experiencing homelessness."

-- Emily E. Smith

esmith@oregonian.com

503-294-4032; @emilyesmith