EVERETT — A controversial ordinance that would have made panhandling on street corners a criminal offense was defeated in a late-night vote of the Everett City Council on Wednesday.
The measure was one of three that had been advanced by Mayor Ray Stephanson’s administration to deal with problems that involve the city’s homeless community and had drawn a rebuke from the American Civil Liberties Union, which in a letter said the city could face legal action.
“Locally and nationally, the ACLU has successfully challenged ordinances containing provisions similar to, or even less restrictive than, the anti-solicitation provisions” contained in the proposed ordinance, wrote Jennifer Shaw, the deputy director of the ACLU of Washington.
After the ordinance was defeated, the ACLU applauded the council’s action in a statement, adding that “the City Council instead should focus on allocating resources to provide services for those in need.”
A second ordinance, to establish an alcohol impact area and prohibit the sale of certain beverages in much of downtown, passed by a 4-2 vote.
A third measure, to ban sitting or lying on sidewalks on Smith Avenue near the Everett Gospel Mission and Everett Station, had been withdrawn Tuesday after members of the city’s Community Streets Initiative protested its inclusion.
It was not among the group’s recommendations.
The Streets Initiative task force last fall recommended a list of actions to help the city get a handle on its chronic problems of homelessness, addiction, mental illness and petty crime. The “no-sit/no-lie” ordinance was not on that list.
Of the two remaining ordinances, the one targeting panhandling was more controversial.
Besides the ACLU, the anti-panhandling measure also drew the attention of residents and activists who packed the council chambers until almost 1 a.m. Wednesday for a chance to weigh in.
Speakers included the Rev. Robert Seals of The Barnabas Project, an Everett church that ministers to the homeless, who said the city’s justification that it was a public-safety measure was a lie. Instead, he said, the city was trying to make the homeless invisible.
“They are not a danger in traffic,” Seals said. “They are a hurt in our hearts because we’re not helping them.”
The speakers included Laura McCarthy, who lives on Colby Avenue and who said she has had numerous items stolen from her home.
One time, she said, a heroin-addicted homeless man tried to break into her house while her teenage children were there alone.
“My family has been victimized living here,” she said, encouraging the council to pass the ordinance. “I know (the ordinances) are not big steps; they’re baby steps, but they can make a big difference.”
Ahmad Bennett, a social worker with the state Department of Veterans Affairs who has ridden with police onpatrols in Everett, said the anti-panhandling measure was missing the point of trying to eliminate homelessness and that criminalizing behavior makes it harder for people to get help.
“If we really want to have an impact, let’s get people off of addiction and get them employed,” Bennett said.
Criminalizing the panhandling, Bennett said, “just makes my job harder to get people off the street.”
The ACLU’s letter prompted Councilwoman Brenda Stonecipher to question whether the ordinance would truly pass constitutional muster.
Deputy city attorney David Hall said that the city’s legal department wrote the ordinance with exactly that concern in mind.
“We believe our ordinance as drafted is rock-solid, and the ACLU is wrong,” Hall said.
Councilman Paul Roberts said that he couldn’t support the measure now but possibly would later if it were part of a package that did more to address the broader issues surrounding homelessness.
“It feels to me that what we’re doing is focusing the police power of the city on those who are unfortunate,” Roberts said.
Stonecipher and Roberts were joined by council members Judy Tuohy and Ron Gipson in voting against the measure.
Councilmen Jeff Moore and Scott Murphy voted in favor. Council President Scott Bader was absent.
Chris Winters: 425-374-4165; cwinters@heraldnet.com. Twitter:@Chris_At_Herald.
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