Council advances clear-sidewalks bill

An overnight camp-out on the Hono­lulu Hale lawn by (de)Occupy Honolulu supporters failed to dissuade the Honolulu City Council from advancing a bill on Wednesday making it tougher for people to stay on city sidewalks for long periods of time.

Meanwhile, Mayor Kirk Caldwell said he prefers that (de)Occupy Hono­lulu supporters voice their opinions and make their opinions known at government buildings instead of Thomas Square, where a group of between 15 and 30 people have stayed overnight since fall 2011.

Bill 7 (2013) now goes back to the Council’s Public Safety and Economic Development Committee for further deliberation before returning to the Council next month for a final vote.

The current "stored property" ordinance allows city officials to remove items left on city sidewalks, provided such items are "tagged" 24 hours in advance. Bill 7 would do away with the tagging process, essentially allowing the city to remove immediately any tents, chairs, tables or any other items deemed a "public nuisance."

The bill is opposed by (de)Occupy Honolulu supporters, the American Civil Liberties Union and some homeless advocates.

A majority of those testifying on Bill 7 on Wednesday oppose it but there were a few who argued for it.

Roland Louie, a member of the Kalihi-Palama Neighborhood Board, said the public sidewalk belongs to all of the public, "not just a small group of hard-core homeless people who chose this type of lifestyle." Homeless people camping on Chinatown sidewalks give tourists visiting there a bad experience, he said.

But David Cannell, who identified himself as homeless, said the Council would be "committing crimes against humanity" by approving the sidewalk property ban before setting up alternatives where people can stay.

Being homeless "is a nightmare," he said. "You don’t know what’s going to happen. You’re a criminal for wanting to get some sleep."

Supporters of (de)Occupy Honolulu set up about a dozen tents in front of Honolulu Hale Tuesday night to protest Bill 7 but left about 24 hours later. City officials used yellow tape to establish a "safe zone" on two sections of lawn in front of City Hall.

A number of items in front of Hono­lulu Hale were tagged Tuesday night. Jesse Broder Van Dyke, Caldwell’s spokesman, said the items were on the sidewalk and were tagged as part of a stored property enforcement action that occurred Tuesday night throughout Honolulu, not just in front of City Hall.

Caldwell told reporters Wednesday afternoon that "the more appropriate place to express free speech and demonstrate government action is in front of government buildings whether they be their state Capitol or their City Hall."

Thomas Square is "an inappropriate place" for (de)Occupy Honolulu’s actions and "disrespectful to the history of that park," the mayor said. Sidewalks, in general, are also inappropriate for (de)Occupy, he said. "They’re built for pedestrians, not for camping on."