Amend Chapter 13, addition of New Article 2 Entitled Panhandling and Solicitation Regulations

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Panhandling And Solicitation Regulations Ordinance Page 4 permissible Solicitation as set forth in Section 13-26(a)(2) and Section 13-26(a)(3) below. (e) "Public place" means an area to which the public or a substantial group of persons has access, including any street, highway, alley, sidewalk, parking lot, plaza, transportation facility, library, school, place of entertainment, park, playground, bridge, and any doorway, entrance, lobby to such buildings enclosing them. (f) "Soliciting" and "Solicitation" mean using the spoken, written, or printed word, or bodily gestures, signs or other means with the purpose of obtaining immediate donation of money or other thing of value or soliciting the sale of goods or services. Solicitation includes "begging", "panhandling", and any derivations of these terms.2 Sec. 13-26 Prohibited Acts. (a) In light of the City's duty to provide residents and visitors to the downtown of the city with a safe environment where social, business, cultural, and recreational opportunities can be maximized while eliminating nuisance activities which negatively affect such interactions, the following regulation shall be in full force and effect: (1) Except as otherwise provided in Section 13-26(a)(2) and Section 13-26(a)(3) below, Solicitation is prohibited in the Central Business and Entertainment Area (CBEA). (2) Solicitation of immediate donation of money or other thing of value or the sale of goods or services that (i) is performed by a person who is a "Licensee" (as defined in Section 4-2(c) of this Code) under Section 455, Charitable Solicitations, and (ii) consists of actions permissible under the regulations set forth in Section 4-55, Charitable Solicitations, and (iii) is fully compliant with the provisions of Section 13- 26(b), shall be excluded from the prohibition .set forth in Section 13-26(a)(1) above. (3) Solicitation of the sale of goods or services that (i) is performed by a person who is a "Licensee" (as defined in Section 4-2(c) of this Code) under one or more of the Sections of this Code listed below, and (ii) consists of actions permissible under the regulations set forth therein, and (iii) is fully compliant with the provisions of Section 13-26(b), shall be excluded from the prohibition set forth in Section 13-26(a)(1) above: a. Section 4-25: Food Vending Vehicles, b. Section 4-43: Peddlers and Canvassers, c. Section 4-60: Transient Merchants. (b) Because solicitation in an aggressive manner creates a reckless interference with pedestrians and vehicular traffic in public places, the following regulations shall be in full force and effect:3 (1) Solicitation in an Aggressive Manner is prohibited in any Public Place. ~ It is the intent of the South Bend Common Counal that the terms "soliatation, begging and panhandling" be considered interchangeable terms with "soliatation" encompassing all three terms and any derivations thereof, similar to the interpretation given to such terms in Smith v. City of Fort Lauderdale, Florida (11th Cir. 1999) No. 98-4973 decided June 2,1999. 3 !t is the intent of the South Bend Common Counal that only soliating in an aggressive manner which constitutes a reckless interference with pedestrian and vehicular traffic be prohibited by this provision, consistent with the findings in Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless and Charles Gooden v. City, of Cincnnati (6th Cir.) 1995 FED App. 0173P. Deaded June 7, 1995 o~»2a