Berkeley City Council Moves to Crack Down on Homeless

Fed up with young homeless people who harass shoppers, the City Council of this famously liberal city took a first step toward banning packs of dogs and people sleeping along two downtown avenues.

Council members gave preliminary approval Tuesday to the prohibitions along busy Telegraph and Shattuck avenues.

The sleeping ban, which would expire 16 months after it is approved, would be in effect from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. and include $15,000 for new drug detoxification beds.

The dog ordinance limits people to only two “stationary dogs” every 10 feet. It is designed to counter the practice of some homeless pet owners who tether their dogs together and leave them unattended in parks, or allow them to menace passersby.

Tolerance for the homeless has reached its limits even here in what many jokingly call the People’s Republic of Berkeley, where the city’s vast liberal faction, centered on the UC campus, has long argued against restricting civil liberties.

In a case of strange political bedfellows, progressive Linda Maio joined with moderate Polly Armstrong to sponsor the measures.

“It seems to me to not be a draconian measure to prohibit lying down in downtown commercial areas,” Maio said. “There are parks where people can lie down and rest.”

If approved Dec. 8, the measures would take effect a month later. A third proposed ordinance, which would have outlawed skateboarding in shopping areas, failed Tuesday.