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3 Street roots Feb 4,2011 Sidewalk management clears sit-lie hurdles of years past BY JOANNE ZUHL driving force in all variations of sidewalk management downtown, including the two even months into the enforcement of versions that were declared unconstituional. Portland’s Sidewalk Management This ordinance, according to Megan Doern, Ordinance, there are no lawsuits PBA spokeswoman, seems to be working. festering in the wings, no major protests at “Everyone felt that thè time in between City Hall, and little" in terms of social the two (ordinances) was really difficult,and discourse under the banner of civil lights now that we do have thè Sidewalk violations. The absence is notable Management Ordinance, it has helped considering that this plan, which regulates retailers and property owners manage their sitting and lying on public sidewalks, was store front a lot better,” Doern said. “There’s bom of nearly a decade of sit-lie regulations a lot of demand on our sidewalks and this drawing all of the above. ordinance has struck a balance on all of Unlike similar city efforts in the past, those.” which essentially prohibited sitting or lying on sidewalks downtown wholesale, the complete sidewalk management plan f course, not everyone is convinced the includes an agenda of actions to alleviate ordinance is a good thing. Regular sidewalk problems. It includes a regular, concerns finding include relief from the open forum called the Public Sidewalk weather, private security interaction and Management Advisory Committee, with clarity on where the high pedestrian zones business representatives, community really are. The city has yet to put down advocates, representatives of city markers in contested areas as promised commissioners, police, and anyone when the ordinance was passed. The city’s interested in attending. As both a watchdog Human Rights Commission has come out and sounding board for the ordinance, the against it, calling it a human rights violation, advisory committee meets monthly to one that violates the right of people to be discuss sidewalk management and the “free from discrimination and the right to ordinance’s performance, under the rest and leisure.” The vast majority of people oversight of Commissioner Amanda Fritz. warned and cited under the ordinance are “As a participant and an advocate, I always homeless. thought the previous ones were Brett, who was sitting downtown near unconstitutional because there wasn’t Pioneer Courthouse Square, said he has anywhere on downtown sidewalks where been approached by police about the people could sit or lie if they didn’t have a ordinance. place to go, and this ordinance expressly “They want us to sleep right there on the allows people to do th a t” curb, which means we’re breathing in all the So far, she says, it seems to be working. carbon monoxide....They put us right on the 5 “I’m getting far fewer angry messages ciurb, which isn’t healthy. I know we’re on from all sides,” Fritz says. Fritz says she still the streets and stuff, but it’s still not gets some messages from tourists who f healthy;” complain about panhandlers, and the local A woman who goes by “Big Mamma” said there are unrelated arrests,” Han^lelman said. “This has become a pretext tool to get people for other criminal activity, which is not a stated goal. It’s not the right solution for the problem they’re trying to fix.” Police reported 12 unrelated arrests and 7 unrelated citations in their interactions under the ordinance singe it went into effect in June. S T A F F W R IT E R S he ordinance was based on the safe clearance requirements of the American’s with Disability Act, however participants at the advisory committee who live with disabilities have indicated the larger problem isn’t people, but bad curb cuts, newspaper boxes, and other physical structures placed on sidewalks by businesses. Fritz said that physical structures fall under the Portland Department of ■ 0 community understands the challenges and sh e ’s been approached and told to move, and that police are usually concerned with her is “moving in the right direction,” h u t that belongings she keeps around her. She can they will always have to contend with more typically be seen sitting with her cart, challenges and limited resources. knitting, reading or waiting on friends. Big Passed in May, the ordinance prohibits Mamma said that police have told her that it anyone from sitting, lying, or keeping is against the law, and she tells them that possessions beyond his or her immediate she is not harming anyone. She believes that reach in the "pedestrian use zone” of if she isn’t harming anyone, there should be downtown and Rose Quarter/Lloyd district nothing illegal about her taking the space. sidewalks between 7 a.m. and 9 p.m. “We try to go into places that we are not The pedestrian zone extends from the going to hassle anybody. We just want to lay building frontage out eight feet for sidewalks down and go to s le e p .... We don’t damage 10 feet wide or more. For sidewalks less .your property, so what is the problem with than 10 feet wide, the zone is six feet The laying down?” ordinance leaves the two feet next to th e Tricia Knoll, a representative from the curb open to non-pedestrian activities. Human Rights Commission on the Fritz’s The ordinance also requires that people advisory committee, says that people should keep their dog leashed and its neck within be able to get away from the curb in two feet of the owper. There are exceptions inclement weather, and that disabilities are to the prohibitions, including people waiting not always apparent to trigger the for services, street musicians, and people exemptions under the law. who for medical reasons are unable to “Not all disabilities are visible,” Knoll says. comply with the ordinance. Violators receive written warnings prior to “Sleep deprivation, malnutrition, depression mental health issues are not charted out (in being cited. Citations call people into court the ordinance). They can’t see that you are a with the options of entering a community court program, community service, or paying disabled person.” The ordinance is enforced by bike and a fine up to $250. Or people may challenge mounted patrol units of the Portland Police, the citation. however, security officers are permitted to Since enforcement began in mid-June, inform people if they are in violation. The through to Dec. 31, police have issued 118 verbal warnings, 23 written warnings, and 13 mounted police element has become a point of concern, given the intimidation factor of citations. Of the people approached by the horses. Portland Copwàtch’s Dan police, 109 said they were homeless or living Handelman said the law also opens the in a shelter. Twenty-seven gave an address of potential for pretext stops. residence. “Every month that they give out statistics, . The Portland Business Alliance has been a I tllf « O l l i tar s * S w anson T hom as and ATTORNEYS A T "As a participant and an advocate, I always thought the previous ones were unconstitutional because there wasn't anywhere on downtown sidewalks where people could sit or lie if they didn't have a place to go, and this ordinance expressly allows people to do that." CITY COMMISSIONER AMANDA FRITZ Transportation, where enforcement is “grossly underfunded.” Fritz is calling on citizens who are concerned about the issue to call it into the city and report problems. Chani Giegle-Tefler, community organizer with Sisters of the Road, which advocates on behalf of people experiencing homelessness, says her organization is concerned that people are getting moved out of the downtown area who are not included in the figures. “We appreciate the process that the city is going through to keep this accountable, but in our experience at what we’re seeing still, on a daily basis, is there is a lot of enforcement that is not being documented,” said Giegle-Teller. “So we still feel like it’s a law that is being unfairly used to target people experiencing homelessness. It’s still, in our opinion, a move-alortg law.” Geigle-Teller said Sisters hears from its customers reports of being asked a host of questions by police, and that’s not being documented. “Whether it’s a friendly warning or harassment depends on whether you’re sitting on top of a horse or sitting on a street comer,” Giegle-Teller said; That the preponderance of interaction on the ordinance is with homeless people is not lost on Fritz. But, she said, that is why instructions have been given to Clean & Safe, the downtown security and cleaning detail of the Portland Business Alliance, to give people in violation an alternative. “’ITiey’re saying please move over here, ratiier than please go away,” Fritz said. “It gives everybody ah alternative. The ordinance is actually one element of the larger sidewalk management plan that calls for 12 action items, with concessions for both advocates for the homeless and the business community. They include flie completion of the Resource Access Center, Ö T R A IO H T NO CONSULTATION FEE, j F R O T E C T I N i a P E O P L E ’ S R I Ï 3 H T S S IN C E 1 9 8 1 , - S o c i a l S e c u r it y - W o r k e r s c o m p e n s a t io n - P e r s o n a l I n j u r y 82Q « S w S E C O N D A V E N U E , S T E 3O C 3 j PORTLAND, O R homeless individuals. By last fall, the campaign had $25,000 in pledges from the city, the PBA, American Express and Travel Portland, among others. “There is still work to do,” says Veronica Rinard, community relations director with Travel Portland, which was in discussions w ith th e city while th e ordinance w as being crafted. “We still have people o u t there who need help, and we still have instances Where visitors feel uncomfortable. I think we’re interested in continuing conversations with the city on what is possible and what the possible solutions might be.” . In 2002, the city’s Obstructions as Nuisances ordinance banned people from sitting or lying on a public sidewalk. Multiple protests occured at City Hall in the year that followed, including a 24-hour camp outside the building, which resulted in a lawsuit In 2004, the; city’s sit-lie ordinance was declared unconstitutional in Circuit Court, ■ with the judge ruling that the law was unconstitutionally broad and vague. From June of 2004 until December of 2005 no ordinance was enforced. In December of that year, a new pilot sit-lie ordinance was put in place, which also later struck down for being unconstitutional. Fritz said the advisory panel was intentionally s e t up not as an oversight committee, which existed under the previous ordinance, and which Fritz said diverted responsibility away from the elected council. “I’m very clear that the oversight responsibility to this is the City Council,” Fritz said. “We don’t charge (the committee) with coming to consensus. We don’t ask them to make deals. It’s more, here’s the issue, who has suggestions on what we should do about it.” ' Kaisa McCrow contributed to this article C oon LA W C A L X , U S T O D A Y A T 5 0 3 , 2 2 8 , »32323 I Street Roots strives for accuracy, but we're human. So we also strive to correct errors in our paper whenever possible. Please report any errors to our managing editor, Joanne Zuhl, at 503-228-5657, or write in streetrootsnews@gmail. ;■> which is slated to open in June, increased enforcement of criminal activity downtown, the development of a downtown retail strategy, support for referral resources, and increasing the number of public restrooms embodied by fast-tracking the siting of Randy Leonard’s Portland Loos. “I do think we are making reasonable progress on the 12 point plan,” Leonard said, adding that he has not heard any new complaints from the business community since the council adopted the ordinance. “I am not sure how objectively the ordinance has worked,” Leonard said. “However, I do think that people are trying more to not obstruct the flow of sidewalk traffic.” The plan includes a partnership between the city and the Portland Business Alliance tocreate a donation program in retail stores to fund outreach efforts through New Avenues for Youth tcHfeonnect with young co ffee b e a n IN T E R N A T IO N A L ’ We tip our m ugs to Coffee Bean International fo r donating coffee to Street Roots and keeping our vendors warm in the morning! 9 7 2 0 4 ISSJT O U R W C B S IT C l W W W .S T ß -L A W .C Ö M j T hank you!
