Beware, sidewalk sitters: Berkeley is coming for you

By msnbc.com news services

In California?s countercultural hub of Berkeley, sitting down on sidewalks in commercial areas could be banned under a proposed measure that will be on the November ballot, local media reported.

The Berkeley City Council voted early Wednesday morning, 6-3, to put the controversial measure on the ballot following an hours-long meeting at which yelling erupted among the crowd and homeless advocates questioned the need for such a ban, the Contra Costa Times reported.

"Don't pretend that you're doing it out of deep concern for homeless," said Osha Neumann, who was representing the East Bay Community Law Center, according to the newspaper. "If that is true, why was not one single homeless provider consulted on this? This is all stick and no carrot and calling a stick a carrot doesn't make it so."

But Mayor Tom Bates said the idea was ?to make the sidewalks more civil,? CBS SF reported. ?I would say that I feel as the mayor, it?s my responsibility to have as civil a city as possible and I feel this is a step in the right direction.?

Council member Jesse Arreguin voted against putting the ban on the ballot: ?I think we should be focusing on more constructive measures rather than punitive (measures)? for the homeless, CBS SF quoted him as saying.

Berkeley would join a few other cities in imposing such a ban. Others include the California cities of Santa Monica and Santa Cruz, and Seattle, Wash., reported Berkeleyside. After receiving two warnings, violators could get a $50 citation or community service work, according to the news website.

Berkeley already has a ban on the books prohibiting lying on the sidewalk in the daytime. This measure would amend that to extend it to sitting, CBS said.

Some in the business community are backing the ban, according to the Contra Costa Times.

"The public are concerned about our public spaces," said John Caner, the CEO of the Downtown Berkeley Association. "We want welcoming spaces that everyone can enjoy -- small children, seniors, even the homeless. We have broad support from the business community on this. Please go forward and instruct the city manager to put this on the ballot."

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