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HomeMy WebLinkAboutRepeal Ordinance NO. 5650-74 City Laws Applying to Bicycles (Vetoed)At the June 24, 1974, regular meeting of the Common Council, a vote was taken regarding the Mayor's veto of: ORDINANCE NO. 5685 -74 AN ORDINANCE TO REPEAL ORDINANCE NO. 5650 -74 AND OTHER CITY LAWS APPLYING TO BICYCLES, passed by the Common Council on June 10, 1974, and officially vetoed by Mayor Miller on June 20, 1974. The Mayor's veto was upheld by a roll call vote of three nays (Councilmen Serge, Horvath and Newburn) and five ayes (Councilmen Szymkowiak, Miller, Taylor, Kopczynski and Nemeth) with Councilman Parent absent. A "nay" vote meant a vote to sustain the veto. )z��Ga-,.dL- Ld,�J Barbara Byers, Del5uty City Clerk City of South Bend, Indiana CITY OF SOUTH BEND South Bend, Indiana 46601 June 20, 1974 Jerry J. Miller Mayor The Honorable Irene Gammon City Clerk County -City Building South Bend, Indiana 46601 Dear Mrs. Gammon: This lette will serve as my official notification to veto Ordinance Numbe 685 -74 and Ordinance Number 5686 -74 for the following reasons. The proposed ordinance serves little purpose as a law because it is a voluntary law and would be just as effective as a resolution encouraging citizens to register and license their bicycles. Since 1940, the City of South Bend has had a mandatory bicycle license. There are more reasons today to continue this manda- tory procedure if enforcement measures are present than to switch to voluntary procedures. While a bicycle fund is established according to this ordinance, the benefits would go to both those who have registered bikes and those who have not. Therefore, there are not equal services or protection to all citizens. The Common Council Committee on Public Safety held two meetings prior to the filing of the recommended amendments on Ordinance Number 5650 -74 on May 22, 1974, with people representing the following groups: Valley Wheelers Club, local bicycle dealers, and parents with children. Also attending were committee members Taylor, Parent, and Horvath. The majority of those present were first opposed to any mandatory bicycle licensing, but after further study and discussion, the amendments favoring this mandatory licensing were filed nineteen days before the Council meeting of June 10. Another Public Safety Committee Meeting was held after the filing of the proposed amendments prior to the June 10 meeting The Honorable Irene Gammon Page two June 20, 1974 At no time did Councilman Nemeth attend these meetings, submit in writing, or publicize his proposed amendments before June 10. By not referring his suggestions to the Public Safety Committee and by submitting his amendments to the Council after the public hearing had been closed on the amendments proposed by the Public Safety Committee at the June 10 meeting, he did not use proper councilmanic procedures. By denying citizen participation and the democratic process, Councilman Nemeth ignored established precedent. Bicycle thefts have decreased 29570 and the percentage of bicycles recovered and returned has tripled to 3370 since the mandatory bicycle registration was put into effect a little over a month ago. An enforceable ordinance is a crucial instrument of the total crime reduction effort by the City of South Bend. The Bureau of Police is restricted from effectively administering a controlled pro- gram by the proposed amendments. There was no study of Section 2 dealing with bicycle safety and traffic ordinances. The bicycle clubs and those who have participated in the hearings have actively contributed to the ordinance proposed by the Public Safety Committee and have also contributed to its content. It would be a serious breach of the democratic process to disregard all of this citizen input. cc: Mr. Peter J. Nemeth, South Bend Common Council FILED IN CLERK'S OFFICE JUN 2 01974 Irene Gammon CITY CLERK, SOUTH BEND, IND. ORDINANCE No. 5685 -74 Passed by the Common Council of the City of South Bend, IQ 74 IRENE K. GAMMON Presented by me to the Mayor of the City of South Bend, JUNE 11 z9--L4— Approved and signed by Clerk of Common Council IRENE K. GAMMON Clerk ORDINANCE NO. SG 95-') AN ORDINANCE TO REPEAL ORDINANCE NO. 5650 -74 AND OTHER CITY LAWS APPLYING TO BICYCLES. BE IT ORDAINED by the Common Council of the City of South Bend, Indiana, that: SECTION I. Ordinance No. 5650 -74, adopted by the Common Council on April 6, 1974, is hereby repealed. SECTION II. Sections 20 -31, 20 -32, 20 -33, 20 -34, 20 -35, 20 -36, 20 -37, 20 -38, 20 -39, 20 -40, 20 -41 and 20 -43 of the South Bend Municipal Code are hereby repealed. SECTION III. This ordinance shall be in full force and effect from and after its passage by the Common Council and approval by the Mayor. 1st READING PUBLIC HEARING 2nd READING NOT APPROVE D REFERRED 1 PASSED '4 A 44 go I ME Own FILED IN CLERK'S OFFICE MAY 1 1974 Irene Gammon CITY CLERK, SOUTH BEND, IND. lontmiffisr pnr# Ma the (9nutum Toutud of the (Qitg of Onuth vrtu)- Your Committee of the Whole to whom was referred AN ORDINANCE TO REPEAL ORDINANCE NO. 5650 -74 AND OTHER CITY LAWS APPLYING TO BICYCLES. Respectfully report that they have examined the matter and that in their opinion the Ordinance should go to the Council as favorable. Odell Newburn Chairman FREE RRESS mJ6 y+ ..BUSHING <O.