Council Sends Commons Initiative to Commissions

The City Council voted Tuesday to send an initiative aimed at cleaning up Berkeley streets to a number of city commissions to receive more feedback before a final vote is taken in November.

The council voted on the different aspects of the Public Commons Initiative in pieces, approving further consideration of most of those that provided a backbone for the proposal.

The items ranged from drafting an ordinance that would prohibit smoking in commercial areas to stepping up enforcement against public urination and defecation.

“We’re not passing any law, we are simply starting a process to examine these issues, to have a dialogue in the community,” Bates said. “We’re propelling things forward so we can look at them.”

The votes came after many in the audience voiced either their support for or concerns over the proposed initiative, which is aimed at cleaning up the streets in response to concerns from business owners and residents in the city.

“This is an attempt to clean up a city and make it habitable and make it better for everyone,” said Berkeley Chamber of Commerce Chair Roland Peterson, who urged the council to move forward with the initiative.

But many homeless activists are saying the initiative marks an attempt to rid the city of its homeless population by putting more homeless people in jail rather then helping them find housing.

“I would call this the ‘commons for everyone except those who need it most’ initiative,” said activist PhoeBe (sorgen). “We need to allow people to lie on the sidewalk if they have no place to sleep at night. Sure we have to set limits but we don’t have to criminalize poverty.”

(sorgen), along with many others, spoke to one aspect of the initiative that would ban the practice of lying on sidewalks. However, Bates pointed out that his proposal is meant to enforce an already-existing state statute, which prohibits “lodging on the sidewalk.”

A number of council members also called for more investigation into the accessibility of public bathrooms in the city as one of the items in the initiative aims to stop public urination and defecation.

The initiative as a whole was sent to a number of city commissions for further review, which Tom Reed, the chair of the Homeless Commission, said started last night at his commission’s meeting.

“I think it’s a long-term problem and it’s a problem that’s been with citizens of Berkeley for a long time,” Reed said. “Ultimately it requires both compassion and tough decision making. … I think the city is making a huge effort to address the situation.”

A number of attachments proposed by Councilmember Kriss Worthington also passed, including one calling for information to be collected on the number of quality of life citations currently issued, prosecuted and convicted in the city.

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