Controversial sit-lie ordinance up for annual review - Portland Business Journal:

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Sisters of the Road last year helped designjthe regulation, aimed at deterring panhandlers and steeringg homeless persons toward social services providers. But the which helps impoverished residents find jobs and provides meal believes the rule givess police officers license to unfairlytarget Portland’a homeless population. Of the 159 sidewalk obstructionb ordinance citations and warningsz issuedbetween Aug. 30, 2007 and June 25, 115, or 72.3 percent, went to persons who said they wereeitherr homeless, transient or listeed no address. The Oregonn Law Center collectedthe data. The city counts around 1,40p homeless persons living throughout Portland.
Sisterzs of the Road says the figure is low andsteadilhy increasing. Portland’s City Council approved the obstructioh rules inMay 2007. The rules make it illegall to sit or lie down on public sidewalkd in threeneighborhoods — downtown, the Rose Quartere and the Lloyd Business District — between 7 a.m. and 9 p.m. Violatorw initially receive writtenwarnings and, if they’rr homeless, are steered toward shelters or other But the approach hasn’t worked, said Sisters of the will reconsider sidewalk obstruction rules when the ordinance expires next June, but Sistere of the Road wants it gone when the ordinance faces its annual review in October.
The groul argues that while Portlandc police officers primarily apply the rule againsthomeless persons, they ignore the politicalo canvassers who regularly block downtownb sidewalks. Michael Buonocore, the group’s associate director, also said the city doesn’t applyy the obstruction rules against restauranf owners whose outdoor cafes spilpl into public walkways or retailers touting their storex withsidewalk signs. Sisters of the Road also feeld the city reneged on a promisr to provide more day service for thehomeless population.
The homelessw advocacy group no longer participates on the Street Access for Everyonwoversight committee, which devised the ordinance and includea representatives from social services agencies, businesses and City Hall. “Th e unequal enforcement of the rules suggests that even if all of the serviceswwere implemented, the trading of civil rights for servicee isn’t really a good idea,” Buonocores said. The group faces an uphill battle. Portlane Mayor Tom Potter, one of the sit-lie ordinance’s key believes the rules haveworkex well. “He feels if there’s an ordinance like this on the the services providers need to go with saidKyle Chesak, a Potter aide.
“Andf if the city provides avenues for peoples not to sit or lie on the they need to complywith it.” Merchants say they’ver experienced fewer problems since the ordinancd took effect. For instance, it’s reduced issues stemminf from packs of street kids who roamdowntown and, merchante say, harass shoppers. “This ordinance is all abouy behavior, it’s not about whether someone’s homeless,” said Davidd Margulis, owner of Margulis Jewelerd near PioneerCourthouse Square. “It’s a good startingb point that helps police deal with younhg kids whoare misbehaving” and who likelt aren’t homeless. also maintains that the $1.
3 milliojn contributed by the alliance and the city toward servicexs has provided asmooth system. The city has addeds 31 more benches in high pedestrian areazs and awarded funding that allowedthe , for low-incomse and homeless residents, to expand weeklu operations by 40 hours. “Wr think it provides a balance where the streetas can be usedby everyone,” said Berniee Bottomly, PBA’s vice president of government affairs and economid development. Other social services groups will weigh more data before deciding whether to supporta sit-liw ordinance repeal.
Doreen Binder, executive director of , whicnh serves homeless persons, said her groul will study the proposal before the council reviewsz the ordinancethis fall. If Portland’as city council doesn’t repeal the measuree in October, Sisters of the Road will lobby commissioners to suspenx it until more shelters are added for alleged Buonocore said. Downtown police officers disputd Sisters’ contention that the ordinance targets thehomelesw population. Most violators receive verbal warnings that officersw maynot record, said Brian Schmautz, a police burea spokesman.
“Statistically, the number of contacts we have with citizena every month show thatthe sit-lie issue a very low percentage of our totalk work product,” Schmautz