Posted on 09/07/2006 2:47:38 PM PDT by weegee
City expands sidewalk law
Sitting or lying banned in 3 more neighborhoods; citywide extension of the law debated
Responding to residents' demands to reduce crime and clear out vagrants, the City Council on Wednesday added three neighborhoods to an ordinance that bans sitting or lying on sidewalks during most of the day, and some members said it should apply citywide.
The ordinance, which also prohibits putting personal possessions on the sidewalk, already exists in downtown and Midtown, but now will apply to the Old Sixth Ward, Avondale and Hyde Park.
Before the panel approved the measure, several council members sounded off about why the sidewalk restrictions should apply only to some areas of town. That simply pushes people who are on the streets from one neighborhood to another, they argued.
Councilwoman Addie Wiseman said it makes no sense to say it's legal to lie on the sidewalk in front of one house but not another. "That to me is not equal protection," she said.
In the Old Sixth Ward, for example, the ordinance applies to the sidewalk on the south side of Washington, but not to the other side.
The city's Legal Department has said since 2002, when the law went into effect downtown, that enacting it citywide might prompt lawsuits.
That's enough to give Mayor Bill White pause. "I don't want to have a suit that the city will lose," he said.
In a memo to council members last week, City Attorney Arturo Michel cautioned that a selective ordinance is more likely to survive court challenges because people who loiter during the day can go to another part of town where the ordinance does not apply.
"I cannot predict with any reasonable assurance that the courts would uphold a citywide ordinance," Michel wrote.
Councilwoman Pam Holm said the city should take that risk.
"I totally disagree that by extending this ordinance to the entire city we are risking a lawsuit. And if we do, so be it," she said. "It is time for the courts in the state of Texas to tell us if we cannot use our sidewalks for the purpose that they're intended."
The so-called "civility" ordinance, dismissed by critics as a "not in my backyard" measure, was requested by residents in the three neighborhoods, who gathered at least 100 petition signatures. Police also filed reports showing problems in the neighborhoods.
The ordinance requires the council to approve its expansion to areas where it is requested by petition and supported by police reports. "It's a tool for us to use to promote the health, safety and welfare of our citizens," said Leigh Hollins of the Old Sixth Ward Neighborhood Association.
Councilwoman Ada Edwards, whose district contains two of the neighborhoods that requested the ordinance, was the only member to vote against it. She said the sidewalk law will not help to reduce crime, but will criminalize the homeless who have nowhere else to go.
"I know the problems that they're talking about are very real, they're very dangerous, but they do not involve people sleeping on the sidewalk. They involve prostitution; they involve drug dealing," she said. "I don't see how this is going to affect that behavior."
***Cesspool Alert***
Houston PING
I guess their attitude is that vagrancy shouldn't be a crime everywhere in Houston. Only in those newly rebuilt smart growth neighborhoods. People who wanted the "urban" experience.
I hate to say it but south of Washington Avenue are some high dollar homes now, and north of it is still a barrio. It needs to be citywide
That was real smart. (/s)
If ordinance only covers sidewalks, it will just encourage them to lay in the gutter.
"Councilwoman Addie Wiseman said it makes no sense to say it's legal to lie on the sidewalk in front of one house but not another. "That to me is not equal protection," she said."
Equal protection means treating PEOPLE differently for the same thing --- i.e., blacks could sit on a given sidewalk, but white could not.
But Houston is pretty much the cesspool of Texas.
Sorry, that honor goes to Austin.
Can't argue with you.
But the Katrina refugees make it a close second.
...or the lawn.
This is better than nothing at all. I am suprised that this happened at all. For a democrat, Bill white is not all that bad..
I work in the Montrose area. Only San FagFreako has more bums laying around...
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