Panhandling Ordinance Goes Into Effect
Rough Map of Prohibited Areas
The controversial panhandling ordinance enacted by the Arcata City Council back on St. Patty’s Day is now in effect. Ordinances take 30 days after the time of enactment before it goes into law. Officers with APD say they will be warning panhandlers about the new rules before enforcement begins. The new rules will make aggressive panhandling a crime and would also prohibit any form of panhandling within certain areas of the city, such as outside of retail stores, restaurants, bars, and around intersections, to name a few. The map above gives a rough idea of where panhandling will no longer be allowed.
Opponents to the ordinance have warned that the ordinance will be legally challenged for its consistutionality, and a local non-profit — the Humboldt Center for Contitutional Rights — has already signalled its intention to challenge the law. Whether the police will only target the homeless and transients who panhandle illegally and not any organization or person soliciting an “object of value,” such as a non-profit attempting on-the-street fundraising, will remain to be seen. But overall, the law, supported by many in the business community, also had it’s far share of dissenters, who are concerned this law violates the First and Fourth Amendment.
