Council Delays Vote on Penalties for Public Urination
Seeking more time to study options for installing public toilets, the City Council on Tuesday delayed voting on an ordinance that would prohibit public urination and defecation.
The council is scheduled to take up the matter again Aug. 8.
City officials were surprised to find that there is no municipal ordinance on the books making it a crime to relieve oneself in public.
As a result, city officials, spurred on by downtown business leaders, are considering making the offense punishable by fines of up to $1,000 and six months in jail.
Homeless advocates are opposed to the ordinance, which they say is a mean-spirited attempt by business owners to outlaw homelessness. They are calling on council members to instead consider setting up more public toilets.
Councilwoman Cindy Miscikowski called for her colleagues to hold off on voting for the ordinance until the council’s Public Safety Committee studies the matter further.
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