An important local public policy debate

There are 97 comments on taping areas of the sidewalk to save spots for watching the Rose Parade, this morning on Ryan Frank’s Oregonian blog post. In an update Sunday noon, Ryan writes:

“I’ve never gotten so much reader response on any story I’ve written in my career. The blog comments hit more than 60, plus another 15 emails, and people left so many voice mails I had to get extra space because my mailbox filled up. But keep ’em coming. Nothing like a healthy debate on an important local public policy.”

As noted at the end of the latest edition of Next Up at City Council, Commissioner Randy Leonard is proposing an ordinance on Wednesday morning, banning the reservation of sidewalk for parades. AND, he is proposing to delay implementation of the so-called Sit-Lie ordinance, which is intended to ban homeless people from sitting or lying on sidewalks downtown – except while watching parades.

There is one reader comment on Anna Griffin’s post on the O‘s blog, about the Sidewalk Obstructions ordinance delay.

It’s unfortunate the parade tape ordinance is scheduled before the Sit-Lie delay, rather than the other way around. What’s likely to happen is that citizens will show up to testify on parade tape, then leave. But the juxtaposition of the two proposals is a tremendous opportunity to help engage new participants in City government decision-making, by starting with something relatively benign that everyone can easily understand and relate to, then drawing folks in to more important life-and-death issues. I hope Commissioner Leonard and the other members of the Council make frequent references to Sit-Lie during the Parade Tape debate.

It’s important to note that the proposed Parade Tape ordinance is an amendment to Portland City Code Chapter 14A.50 – the same section as the Sidewalk Obstructions, although “Access to public property during parades” will be a separate subsection, 14A.50.140, rather than an amendment to Sidewalk Obstructions in 14A.50.030. Part of me would like to see the two combined, but it’s probably cleaner and clearer to make the two separate – even though Sidewalk Obstructions includes references to parades and street events in 14A.50.030 D, excluding from the Sit-Lie prohibitions:

5. Participating in or attending a parade, festival, performance, rally, demonstration, meeting, or similar event conducted on the public sidewalk pursuant to and in compliance with a street use or other applicable permit;

6. Assembled with others to participate in or observe an expressive event if the assembly has lasted less than eight hours, unless the person refuses to comply with a lawful order of a peace officer, the City Engineer or the City Traffic Engineer to move so as to moderate the impact of the assembly on passage along the through pedestrian zone;

When I first read this before adoption of the ordinance, I immediately thought of the Rose Festival parades. And that anyone can say they are lining up early for the Rose Parade, if sitting on the sidewalk in September. The ordinance doesn’t set limits on how long before an event a person may sit waiting for a parade.

I commend Randy for bringing the Parade Tape ordinance to a hearing immediately, while interest is high in the wake of the Grand Floral Parade and the Portland Mercury‘s clean-up project. Instead of putting together a Citizens Advisory Committee of invited stakeholders and employing a facilitator to mediate discussions leading to a proposal in a couple of months (when it will be August and people will have forgotten/gone on vacation), he put the ordinance on the Council agenda to have the debate here and now. Don’t get me wrong, in many/most issues a longer process hearing from community leaders and the general public before bringing an ordinance to Council is the right way to go. In this one, putting it on the Agenda while the issue is hot is a fine move.

At Wednesday morning’s meeting, there are three important Time Certain reports, any/all of which could take significant time. There are 14 items on the Regular Agenda with the potential for public testimony, before the Parade Tape proposal. Citizens who take time off work on Wednesday morning may resolve “Never again” if they have to sit through hours waiting for the item they’re interested in to come up. It would have been helpful to have added a Council meeting on Wednesday evening, just for the two sidewalk items, so people who work during the day could participate or watch more conveniently. At least one Council session per month should be scheduled in the evening on a routine basis, in my opinion.

Based on public reaction to the two proposed ordinances, many more people relate to saving spaces for a parade than to destitute people finding a place to rest on city streets. At first, that seems superficial and incompassionate. In reality, many Portlanders do care about people experiencing homelessness – especially if they are given a reason to stop and think about them. And there are core issues of freedom of assembly, human rights, and the importance of public spaces, that can be brought to light through discussion of parade tape. Wednesday morning’s Council meeting is an outstanding opportunity to promote widespread, thoughtful consideration of important issues, both in Council chambers and at dinner tables, bars, and coffee shops all over Portland. Good work, Commissioner Leonard.