More than three years after a lawsuit forced them to reconsider the issue, Clark County officials are inching closer to an established policy over removing property from homeless camps.

Clark County Parks sent a policy draft to county councilors in late January, and they discussed it at a council time meeting last week. Several questions remain as discussion over the policy continues, including who will actually perform the clean-up work. But overall, the lawyers who sued the county say it’s a good start.

“They’re starting with a better policy to build on, so that’s good to see,” said Vancouver attorney Moloy Good, who helped bring the lawsuit against the county. “There’s nothing objectionable. It’s mostly just stuff that raises questions.”

Good and Peter Fels, a retired Vancouver attorney, represented six plaintiffs who accused the county of throwing out their belongings during cleanups from 2012 to 2014. The county in 2016 agreed to pay a settlement of $250,000 in damages and attorneys’s fees. Councilors who approved the settlement also committed to recommending a policy that would set stricter limits for when work crews can remove homeless people’s belongings.

“In general, I think this policy is consistent with that, and I’m glad to see that they’re doing it,” Fels said.