A carpenter who crowdfunded hundreds of thousands of dollars in order to build small shelters for the homeless in city parks has agreed to stand down amid a legal fight with the city.

Khaleel Seivwright began building and providing tiny houses to people living outdoors last winter in an effort to provide shelter against freezing temperatures for Toronto's houseless community.

His efforts soon gained traction on social media and he launched a GoFundMe campaign to help cover his costs, eventually raising more than $285,000.

But he soon drew the ire of the city, which in February sough a court injunction to prevent him from constructing any more of the shelter, citing safety concerns.

The legal wrangling continued for months but on Saturday Seivwright announced on Instagram that he has come to a settlement with the city and will suspend his “Toronto Tiny Shelters” initiative.

In the settlement papers, released by the city, Seivwright confirms that he does not own any of the structures and agrees not to install any new shelters on city land without permission from the city.

In exchange, the city will withdraw its legal proceedings and both parties will cover their own legal costs.

In a video statement, posted to Instrgam, Seivwright confirmed that Toronto Tiny Shelter “will no longer exist in the same way” and that the GoFundMe will be shut down.

But he did not comment on where the money that he raised will go and seemed to take issue with the city’s handling of the issue.

“The future of our city does not depend on ruthlessly enforcing policies that have no regard for the humans being who live here. It does not depend on squeezing anyone out who cannot afford rent,” Seivwright said. “The future of our city depends on cohesive, sustainable solutions that address the real issues: poverty, lack of affordable housing, and a broken shelter system.”

Nearly 100 structures existed at one point

The city says that there were, at one point, nearly 100 of the wood structures placed on city property.

However, it says that staff believe there are only about nine remaining.

“The quantity of combustibles frequently noted and observed inside these structures, combined with activities associated with the use of open flames, increases the probability and consequence of fire,” the city said in a news release issued later Saturday. “On February 17, 2021, one person died in an encampment fire that involved a wooden structure. There have been several other similar fires without injury in 2021 involving this type of wooden structure.”

The city says that crews have responded to 85 uncontrolled fires at encampments so far in 2021.