Last year, Portland housing advocate Alan Kessler filed a complaint against Wendy Chung, a commissioner on the city's Historic Landmarks Commission.
The commission was weighing approval of an affordable housing project across from Chung's house in Northwest Portland. Chung participated in the hearings, but ultimately did not vote on the issue.
The Oregon Government Ethics Commission immediately dismissed the complaint when filed last year.
Kessler then filed suit in Multnomah County Circuit Court last May, and the ethics commission agreed in February to investigate and pay Kessler $10,000 in legal fees.