The Southern California resort town of Palm Springs is set to approve a $27 million reparations agreement with Black and Latino families who were forced out of their homes in the 1960s, making it one of the first cities in the country to do so.

The tentative deal, which was announced Wednesday and had received the backing of Sen. Laphonza Butler (D-Calif), will come before the city council for a final vote on Thursday. It follows a similar move in 2021 by Evanston, Illinois, and comes amid a statewide push for reparations in California that ran into pushback this year.

“We are making history in Palm Springs,” said Areva Martin, lead counsel for the Palm Springs group representing impacted families. “This agreement demonstrates that it’s never too late to acknowledge past wrongs and take meaningful steps toward justice.”

Hundreds of families in a predominantly Black and Latino neighborhood known as Section 14 lost their homes in the 1960s after the city demolished the one-mile-square area to build commercial development. A group of survivors and their descendants have pushed the city for reparations since it issued an official apology in 2021.

Butler stepped in this past March, writing a letter to the mayor and city council arguing that despite the city issuing an apology, she was concerned there had yet to be reparation payments.

“Palm Springs has the opportunity to set a historic, yet much needed, precedent not only for California but for the entire nation, by reaching a reasonable, fair resolution with the survivors and their families,” Butler wrote.

The settlement figure is well below the $2 billion that the roughly 300 survivors and descendants had sought. But the group ultimately accepted the city’s final cash offer of $5.9 million in direct compensation.

The city would, in addition, contribute $10 million each to a first-time homebuyer assistance program and a community land trust for affordable housing. It would also put $1 million toward promoting diversity and inclusion in small business developments; rename a park; and create a monument to memorialize the survivors.

“The City Council is deeply gratified that the former residents of Section 14 have agreed to accept what we believe is a fair and just settlement offer,” Palm Springs Mayor Jeffrey Bernstein said in a statement.

Earlier this year, California’s Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom approved an official apology for slavery, but rejected a proposal that would have compensated families who had their land unfairly seized through eminent domain. Newsom cited having no state agency to implement the policy, though some lawmakers accused him of seeking to water down a measure that would have created an agency for reparations.

Meanwhile, the city of Evanston, Illinois is now facing a legal challenge from a conservative legal group over its reparations deal, claiming that it discriminates against residents who are not Black.