12.09.2008
Panhandling rules may tighten
By Robert Vitale - THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
Columbus wants to draw bigger buffers around parking meters, bank machines and restaurant patios to protect people from overly aggressive panhandlers.

The proposal introduced to the City Council last night and scheduled for a vote next week also would ban panhandling after dark. That's when areas such as the Short North and University District become popular destinations for diners and bargoers -- and those who seek their spare change.

"It's a relatively small number of bad actors who are engaging in the most aggressive, obnoxious, nasty behavior," said Councilman Andrew Ginther, who sponsored the proposal.

But left unchecked, he said, those who intimidate others on city streets will end up scaring away customers from small businesses that already are having a tough time.

The proposed city ordinance would expand from 20 feet to 25 feet the zones around banks, bank machines and check-cashing stores in which panhandling already is banned in Columbus. It also would create a new 10-foot buffer around parking meters, public parking lots and pay phones, and draw 25-foot no-panhandling areas around patios and sidewalk cafes.

And asking for money anywhere after dark would be against the law under Ginther's proposal. Panhandlers would be allowed to sit quietly with a cup or sign, though, he said.

Nighttime panhandling is banned in other big cities, despite court rulings that protect as free speech the act of asking someone for money.

But when begging becomes intimidation, government is allowed to act. Being approached at certain places and at certain times is inherently intimidating, Ginther said.

"That, on its face, puts you in a more vulnerable position, when you're pulling money from a pocket or your purse, or you're getting money from an ATM," he said.

Short North business owners pushed for tougher legislation at a City Council hearing in June, saying they fear that customers will go elsewhere to avoid run-ins with aggressive panhandlers.

Columbus police officials said changes would give them more power to enforce the law.

Currently, breaking the city's anti-panhandling laws one time can mean up to a month in jail. Breaking the proposed nighttime ban would bring a $150 fine.

Gavin Armstrong, a former president of the Victorian Village Society, said panhandlers have been part of life in his neighborhood since he moved there 14 years ago.

There's a greater underlying problem of homelessness and poverty to deal with, he said. He doubts that tougher laws will have an impact.

"Are they going to put all the panhandlers through training sessions?" Armstrong said. "It's tough to figure out something that will work."

Ginther, however, said he has convened a group of business owners, police and social-services providers to look at those deeper issues. Among the possibilities, he said, is a program that uses old parking meters as collection boxes for people who want to help the homeless and contribute to charities.

Index of all news articles