06-24-02 Joint Committee Meeting Health & Public Safety and Residential Neighborhoods

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tommitttg port: oiut ItommittWW Mating of the an f5aEttt c ommttte nit tit ezibcutiai ittigi)borboolliz + ommitt e The June 24, 2002 joint Committee meeting of the Health and Public Safety and the Residential Neighborhoods Committee and the Residential Neighborhoods Committee was called to order by the Chairperson of the Health and Public Safety Committee, Council Member Andrew Ujdak at 3:05 pm in the Council Informal Meeting Room. Persons in attendance included Council Members: Kelly, Varner, King, Aranowski, Coleman, Pfeifer,Ujdak, Kirsits and White; Citizen Member Khadijah Muhammad, John Oxian, City Attorney Charles Leone, Terry Bland of the §Otttfi fJ3 Ub ZribtttU, and Kathleen Cekanski- Farrand, Council Attorney. Council Member Ujdak called for a presentation on Substitute Bill No. 42-02 which would amend Chapter 13 by the inclusion of new Article 1 entitled "Gang Loitering Regulations" and would delete§ 13-55 and§ 13-56 of the South Bend Municipal Code. Council Member Pfeifer began the presentation on the proposed Bill by noting that both she and Council Member King, the sponsors of the proposed regulations, began receiving comments from concerned residents about activities going on in their neighborhoods which were of growing concern. As a result, in 1998 joint meetings of the Health and Public Safety Committee which she then chaired and the Residential Neighborhoods Committee which Council Member King then chaired began to take place. Three (3) quality of life proposed ordinances resulted, with Bill No. 42-02 being the last of the three being proposed for Council consideration. Three (3) loitering conferences were held which were jointly sponsored by the City of South Bend and IUSB-SPEA, where information was shared and discussed in these open public forums. Representatives from the cities of Seattle Police Department, the Chicago Police Department, Benton Harbor, New Buffalo, the City of Chicago General Counsel's Office, the Michigan and Indiana State Police Departments, the Notre Dame Law School, ACLU; and the Goshen City Court Judge and the Mishawaka City Engineer provided valuable information. Residents, neighborhood groups, elected officials and law enforcement personnel from lower Michigan and throughout northern Indiana were in attendance and had the opportunity to share their concerns in this area. The first two (2) ordinances passed by the South Bend Common Council addressed anti-ticket scalping and the related secondary effects on the neighborhoods where it takes place, with the second ordinance dealing with panhandling and the secondary effects associated with such conduct. Council Member Pfeifer noted that since January of this year, she and the Council Attorney have attended at Ieast nine (9) neighborhood association meetings where the proposed gang loitering ordinance was discussed openly. At many of those meetings, members of the South Bend Police Department were present along with members of the neighborhoods. Council Member Pfeifer further noted that a series of internal meetings were held at IUSB with Council Member King, Police Chief Larry Bennett, other members of the South Bend Police Department, representatives of the University of Notre Dame General Counsel's Office, the Council Attorney and herself on all three (3) of the "quality of life" ordinances. At all of these meetings concerns were raised and discussed including the issue of profiling. Council Member Pfeifer noted that it is her understanding the NNN has decided not to include their area of the city as a potential"hot spot"for enforcement of the gang ordinance, if this ordinance is passed. Council Member Pfeifer thanked all of the neighbors in South Bend who have called members of the Council, who took time to attend the many meetings and workshops held on these topics and who talked with their elected officials or police officers in person. She also thanked Council Member King for his leadership