Berkeley Council passes plan to stop bad street behavior

[Freddie Stubbs]

Source: San Francisco Chronicle

Carolyn Jones, Chronicle Staff Writer

Wednesday, June 13, 2007

Berkeley's City Council voted unanimously Tuesday night to pass most of a sweeping plan to clear the streets of aggressive and disruptive behavior.

The Public Commons for Everyone Initiative passed 9-0 after months of debate among the council, homeless advocates, merchants and residents. The council instructed City Manager Phil Kamlarz to develop details of the implementation, which he will bring back to the council for further approval.

"This is a tolerant and caring community, but we do have our boundaries,'' said Mayor Tom Bates, the legislation's sponsor. "As a small city, we can never solve the drug and alcohol problems that play out on our streets, but this is one thing we can do."

The initiative cracks down on a wide range of behavior that some say make Berkeley's streets inhospitable to residents and visitors alike. Among the activities that will be banned are smoking near buildings in commercial areas, lying on the sidewalk, public urination and defecation, drinking in public, possessing a shopping cart and shouting in public.



Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/06/13/BAGQGQEGR11.DTL

[slackmaster]

1. What would Telegraph Ave. be without people lying on the sidewalk, shitting, pissing, smoking, etc.?

This travesty must be stopped.

[Freddie Stubbs]

7. Cleaner?

:shrug:

[Rydz777]

2. The Brits are a bit ahead of us on this. Their Parliament keeps

passing "Anti-Social Behaviour Orders" and the targets have even come to be called "Asbo's" after the initials of the Parliamentary Acts. These are generally unemployed youth with a lot of time on their hands -who have seen their parents' jobs shipped to Asia and who have no prospects of their own.

[saigon68]

3. More Prisons-- Lock up these animals

</sarcasm>

[proud2BlibKansan]

4. My mother would have been arrested if this law had been in effect in our neighborhood

She could shout for us to come home loudly enough to be heard 6 blocks away. LOL

[rocktivity]

5. Shopping carts have LEGITIMATE uses, you know

I have to park too far from my home to carry a week's worth of groceries or duffel bag full of laundry!

:headbang:
rocknation

[olddad56]

6. I wonder if people would take a dump on the street if they had an option?

[slackmaster]

8. Some would

:argh:

[cigsandcoffee]

9. I'm sorry, but they'd better figure out an option like the rest of us.

I mean, who takes a crap on the street and expects it to be OK?

[RogueBandit]

11. who takes a crap on the street

The mentally ill. You know the ones that their families have abandoned? The ones that the community would prefer to just die? The ones Reagan un-promised to have community centers for when the mental hospitals shut down. The ones Jesus talked about as a measuring stick for our society...and ourselves? Yeah, those.

[cigsandcoffee]

12. And tolerating them taking a crap on the street...

...helps them how?

[Xithras]

13. True story.

I was eating in an outdoor restarant in SF last year when a homeless guy walked up and started begging money. One guy gave him some, but everyone else refused. The guy got mad, dropped his drawers, and pinched off a loaf on the sidewalk right there in front of everyone.

It had the intended effect. Everyone got up and left.

Some homeless people are just antisocial nutjobs.

[mondo obscurius]

10. For crying out loud!

"Among the activities that will be banned are smoking near buildings in commercial areas, lying on the sidewalk, public urination and defecation, drinking in public, possessing a shopping cart and shouting in public."

WHAT"S LEFT???
:wow:
There goes my Friday night out!

[sneakythomas]

14. It doesn't mention

sex.

[annabanana]

15. "possessing a shopping cart and shouting in public"??

Fine. Criminalize homelessness and mental disability.