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X-WR-CALNAME:www.indybay.org
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UID:Indybay-18565877
SEQUENCE:18607993
CREATED:20090127T040000Z
DESCRIPTION:Public Meeting to consider new anti-homeless Downtown Ordinances.   
 \n\nCity Council really needs to be eliminating the laws that harass the 
 young, poor, and homeless downtown.  They add to public tension, constrict 
 public space, and don't even address the "behavioral problems" that the 
 merchants have.\n\nInstead of meeting with the community to consider the 
 real issues, a select coterie of reactionaries has met behind closed doors 
 to design even more repressive and futile laws.\n\nCity Council's secret 
 Downtown Task Force (Councilmembers Coonerty, Mathews, and Robinson) is 
 fasttracking expansion of "forbidden zones" to perform, peacefully spare 
 change, or political table downtown and other repressive anti-homeless 
 measures.\n\nThey apparently are bypassing the customary Downtown 
 Commission consideration process and have given the public only four days 
 notice after cooking up these changes in private with police, merchants, 
 and city staff.  \n\nThe ordinances, as usual, are masquerading as 
 "behavioral improvement" laws.   They actually contract significantly the 
 public space allowed for innocent behavior that nonetheless irks some 
 merchants and particularly the Downtown Association. \n\nThey are also 
 being described as "clarifications" that "make things more uniform".  There 
 will certainly be uniforms involved in their enforcement.\n\nPolice 
 typically present little or no documentation of the crime problems, nor the 
 specific documented complaints that supposedly justify the new laws.  
 \n\nOral Communications begins at 7 PM.  The ordinances and other 
 homeless-hostile measures will be considered immediately thereafter.\n\nFor 
 more info see:\n\n"Detailed info on New Santa Cruz Downtown Ordinances" 
 at\nhttp://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2009/01/22/18565245.php\n\nand 
 \n\n"Harsher Downtown Ordinances Being Cooked Up?" 
 at\nhttp://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2009/01/15/18563373.php\n\nThis is 
 really Chapter 3 in grim chronicle of laws that give police power to move 
 along those they or  their merchant employers want.  For a look back at 
 Chapter 2 in 2002 when we saw an earlier City Council pass 
 anti-poor-in-public-spaces laws, clumsily disguised as behavior ordinances. 
  See the many articles in the July 19, 2002 issue of The Alarm: 
 http://the-alarm.com/pdf/7-19-02.pdf\n\nThe proposed ordinances for 
 tomorrow can be found at: 
 http://64.175.136.240/sirepub/cache/2/4fgocd55eyawyh2knqcwyc45/207171601262009043628485.PDF 
 \n\n\n https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2009/01/26/18565877.php
SUMMARY:Fast Track for New Repressive Downtown Ordinances
LOCATION:City Hall Council Chambers 809 Center St. across from the Civic Auditorium 
 and the Main Library
URL:https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2009/01/26/18565877.php
DTSTART:20090128T030000Z
DTEND:20090128T060000Z
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