06-24-02 Council Meeting Minutes

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REGULAR MEETING JUNE 24, 2002 site will be mostly covered with parking and rooftop which actually is better than some of the historical uses that were at the site. Mr. Gilot informed the Council that the administration recommends in favor of the environmental indemnification as a condition of the City's overall agreement with TJX. This being the time heretofore set for the Public Hearing on the above bill, proponents and opponents were given an opportunity to be heard. There being no one present wishing to speak to the Council either in favor of or in opposition to this bill, Councilmember Coleman made a motion for favorable recommendation to the full Council concerning this bill. Councilmember Kelly seconded the motion which carried by a voice vote of nine (9) ayes. BILL NO. 42 -02 PUBLIC HEARING ON A BILL OF THE COMMON COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SOUTH BEND, INDIANA, AMENDING CHAPTER 13, BY THE INCLUSION OF NEW ARTICLE 1, ENTITLED GANG LOITERING REGULATIONS AND DELETING SECTIONS 13 -55 AND 13 -56 OF THE SOUTH BEND MUNICIPAL CODE Councilmember Coleman made motion to hear the substitute version of this bill. Councilmember Varner seconded the motion which carried by a voice vote of nine (9) ayes. Councilmember King noted that the Council will be conducting a Public Hearing on this bill this evening but will not vote on the matter. Because the Council desires to have as much public input as possible on this ordinance, a second Public Hearing will be held on July 22, 2002 and the bill will be voted on at that time. After public comment this evening, this bill will be continued until July 22, 2002. Councilmember Ujdak reported that the Residential Neighborhood Committee and the Health and Public Safety Committee held a joint hearing this afternoon and sends this bill to the Council with no recommendation due to the consideration outlined by Councilmember King with the intention of sending it back to these committees on July 22, 2002 for additional Public Hearing and consideration. Second District Councilmember Charlotte Pfeifer made the presentation for this bill. Councilmember Pfeifer advised that in 1998 she and Councilmember King started getting telephone calls from neighbors, businesses and people who come downtown and want to take part in the events at the Century Center or the Morris Civic Auditorium or patronize a restaurant. After receiving a number of concerns and talking to individuals, it was realized that there were quality of life issues and that there was activity going on that literally compromised the quality of life in our City. Therefore, they conducted a number of meetings in conjunction with the Health and Public Safety Committee and with the support of the Office of the Mayor, the City Council and the IUSB School of Public and Environmental Affairs a Loitering Conference was held in April of 1999. They wanted to look around the country and see if other communities were getting these challenges. Some of the challenges were young people, generally young men, standing around getting involved in gang activity, intimidation, illegal activity, threatening people and compromising the quality of life. The City of Philadelphia was dealing with issues of loitering but they mostly pertained to homelessness. The City of East Chicago had a loitering ordinance and was dealing with gang activity. The City of Seattle had a prize winning program that was funded by the national Community Oriented Police program in Washington. The person responsible for this program was invited to South Bend to attend the conference. Also involved were the South Bend Police Department, Mishawaka Police Department, St. Joseph County Police, Indiana State Police and Michigan State Police. The conference was well attended. As a result, she and Councilmember King initiated the ticket sales -4-