KTOO reports that the CBJ Assembly has postponed voting on the proposed No Camping ordinance until February 13. Jacob Resnick’s piece there, Vote postponed over Juneau’s controversial ‘camping ordinance’, though short, was quite powerful, and I recommend you take a look at it.
In addition, please take a longer look at the information from the City, posted here. I think they’ve received a good number of solid ideas from people, and I think you’ll find a lot to chew on in these documents. Also, for reference, this is the link to the proposed ordinance itself.
My personal opinion is that there are ways to ease the burden on business and property owners and downtown residents, while simultaneously supporting the other stakeholders (people sleeping on the streets, police officers, shelters).
And make no mistake, there is real harm being done to people other than the homeless: when a society fails its citizens so profoundly that they are living in the streets, it affects the other people who use those streets too.
Now that we have some time to really think this over, I’d be interested in hearing from others. What, if anything, do you think the City Assembly should do in this situation? Do you see potential solutions that you think haven’t been considered?
Mary
