A proposed ordinance being reviewed by Burlington City Councilors could ban people from sitting on the sidewalks of five key downtown streets that feed onto the Church Street Marketplace.
The ban would also extend to sandwich board signs or other types of advertising, though it would allow any existing licensed “encumbrances” to continue until their license expires.
The Burlington City Council Monday night agreed to send the proposed ordinance to its Ordinance Committee for review. The three-member committee is chaired by Councilor Joan Shannon (D-Ward 5), and includes Councilors Sharon Bushor (I-Ward 1) and Bram Kranichfeld (D-Ward 2).
The ordinance would create a “right of way” extending six feet from the edge of buildings, and would mirror existing bans on the Church Street Marketplace. The Marketplace “right-of-way” extends nine feet from the edge of buildings.
The affected streets would be Pearl, Cherry, Bank, College and Main Streets between South Winooski Avenue and St. Paul Street.
The proposed ordinance was crafted “in response to a variety of complaints and concerns about persons seated, laying down, and in a host of other stationary positions on the sidewalks in the downtown,” wrote Police Chief Michael Schirling in a memo to councilors.
Hmm, I wonder what “other stationary positions” look like.
The proposal, according to Schirling, would be a “pilot project” to keep the sidewalks free for all pedestrians, including the elderly and disabled.
The intent of the ordinance, as drafted, reads, in part: “This section is enacted to protect the public safety and to provide for unencumbered passage for pedestrians and disabled citizens … and to promote the economic vitality of the downtown area.”
It would also likely curb the kind of panhandling downtown pedestrians pass by on several downtown routes. Seven Days staffer Andy Bromage tackled the subject in this week’s Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, asking: “Why do panhandlers hang out in that spot on Main Street?”
The answer? According to those Bromage talked to it’s either a good spot to ask for spare change or its simply the sunnier side of the street.
The ordinance is just another in a series of efforts aimed at “cleaning up” downtown Burlington. Earlier this year, the council adopted a smoking ban for the city’s parks and beaches. Church Street was spared from the ban this time, but a previous effort to ban smoking on the Marketplace failed, too. Who knows? Maybe the third time is the charm.
On Monday, too, the council voted 10-4 to oppose the issuance of an Act 250 permit to Phoenix House to operate a 20-bed transitional house on Elmwood Avenue, just a half block from the top of Church Street. The opposition to the proposal was fueled, in part, by downtown business concerns that it would add more “undesirable people” onto the Marketplace and detract shoppers from coming to the pedestrian mall.
Wonder if we’ll see a renewed interest in Westward Ho!, a privately-funded effort in the 1980s that gave certain folks a one-way bus ticket out of town. And, not just Shelburne or Charlotte out of town, but waaayyy out of town.
Photo credit: Andy Bromage.
This article appears in May 12-18, 2010.
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I don’t think anyone has to worry about losing local “color” by passing an ordinance against those in stationary positions. Has anyone been to Church street on any given weekday morning? It’s like a dress rehearsal for the Halloween Zombie parade! And none of those folks who look like they just missed or are seeking their next dose of “something” are stationary…so I think they’re here to stay.I think if you stop and take liberal/conservative politically charged arguments out of it the fact is they are simply saying “no sitting/laying around on the sidewalk”. When you visit another town do you ever have the urge to just cop a squat on the sidewalk? Of course not, because that is where people WALK. If it is was an ordinance about no sitting in a park, no sitting on a bench, or no sitting on a beach, then I could see the need to be perturbed. But this just seems to be common sense to make sure the sidewalks are clear so the sideWALKs can serve their named purpose.There is no biking permitted in the Marketplace area, if sidewalks are deemed to be OK replacements for benches, perhaps cyclists should start lobbying to have them act as roadways as well.
I’ve said it before to my friends here (and I’ll say it again): Burlington is a small town pushing hard to be a city. And if you read all the accolades Burlington has received in the PR “Best of…” categories, you’d think we were the most hospitable, liveable place in North America! We’re not! As I read the whining comments on here, hardness of heart comes to mind. You’ve lost that spirit of generosity that has made Vermont great! When I lived in London ten years ago, I might have been irritated by the constant panhandlers, but recognised that this is part of life in a big city. Actually, I stopped frequently outside my neighbourhood tube station and talked with the people who sat there (“Spare some change, sir?”) and heard their stories. Turns out the majority were human! Fancy that! And several friends I made had once been among the working class, laid off unemployed (one pay-check away from poverty), and were struggling to find food for their own families. (With the new ConDem government it will get worse!) The memo accompanying this resolution was written by police chief Schirling. He heads up that same force that sends deputy officers as department liaisons to NPA meetings, encouraging citizens to act as block wardens and report on citizens’ “undesirable” activities in neighbourhoods. So much for friendly, community policing.I’m actually more concerned about the despicable NIMBY resolution against Phoenix House. “The Other America” is alive right in our own backyard.http://www.sfbayview.com/2010/the-other-america/
“Yeah… crush the faces of the poor… drive them out… hound them, despise them.”HA! “crush the faces?” What imagery! You’re a poet Joseph. I imagine the sad sound of a single violin follows you wherever you go.
I’m tired of it, too. I work downtown, and there are certain sidewalks I just don’t go down. I will make a point of crossing mid street just to get where I need to go. Those people who say “just say no” – how often do you go downtown? It’s nice that they’re redoing the MacDonalds, because there was a woman there who stood there 8-5, sometimes with a kid. And then you’d see them get into a Volvo and go home.I don’t know if a sidewalk sitting ban is the way to go. It should be an anti panhandling ban. I have a heart. I give hundreds to COTS every year. But panhandling is a nuisance, and I don’t pass certain businesses, because I get harrassed in front of them.
“It sucks to get panhandled twice in the span of that 15 minutes. “Oh the suffering… Oh the humanity…. God-forbid you should have to interact with poor and outcast people twice a day!Yeah… crush the faces of the poor… drive them out… hound them, despise them.Always remember, you’re the victim.
“spangers have a right to be on Church Street as much as anyone else.” All people have a right to be on Church Street, as long as they are not breaking laws. But people do not have a right to sit in the middle of a public sidewalk. People do not have a right to harass other people. “These morons are driven by one thing and one thing only”They are driven by profit. They want their downtown businesses to succeed and to make money. They want to attract paying customers. In turn, they will employ people, make building improvements and pay taxes. These things will make Burlington a stronger community. The motives of the store owners are laudable.
Right, this the Mayor recommending this along with the other liberals in town!? Its the Republican, conservative church street marketplace dopes pushing this. These morons are driven by one thing and one thing only and if that means homogenizing the entire downtown so be it.
“Hmm, I wonder what “other stationary positions” look like.”Just a thought, but this ordinance might be aimed at Burlington’s growing population of mimes.
I see them all the time. They don’t bother me; I just say no.But guess what, they are there because quite a few people give them money. I am guessing most of these “donors” are from the suburbs or out of town, but they fall hook-line-and-sinker for the pitch. They are always white, middle aged or older, neatly dressed and seem genuinely shocked by the plight of the poor seated soul . . . they will often pair the cash with a heartfelt effort at “help”. The young women with the cardboard signs are special recipients of these efforts, and I suspect they are among the highest earners.But the courts have generally protected panhandling, unless the public is being harassed. A silent beggar with a hat out may be an eyesore, but he or she has every right to be there. Once again Burlington reveals itself as an enclave of like-minded, ex-suburbanites! (Hmmm . . . like myself, now that I think of it . . .)
Well, I dont know if housing is the issue here. Some may choose to be homeless, others may have homes. However I think spangers have a right to be on Church Street as much as anyone else. Just because they are not consumers of Church Street products, maybe they are, doesnt mean they dont have the right to be there. Its just as easy to say no. I have no problem with saying no. I mean I am a single mom with very little money myself, and people still spange me. I just look at them like “are you kidding?” Its easy enough to say no. I just came back from Mexico and people are hustling for money everywhere, you simply say no thank you. Church street is nothing compared to that. Also if you ban them off church street they will just do it somewhere else. Beggars have been around forever. Everyone has their place. It just wont solve anything..I like to see the streets a little more colorful..Just say no. No need to force people off a public place, and expressing their needs or wants..Really I dont see this as a huge problem here. Come on people, have some guts..Maybe thats what Burlington needs. People with guts. oh lets pretend these people don’t exist, or dont have the right to.