Key members of the Honolulu City Council are looking seriously at allowing Mayor Kirk Caldwell’s veto of their sit-lie expansion bill to stand and to instead pass his version of the plan, which his attorneys insist is more legally defensible.
Bill 6, expanding the city’s sit-law ordinance to include areas across the street from the borders of current zones, as well as new neighborhoods at Kapalama Canal, Aala and McCully, was vetoed by Caldwell on Thursday.
Caldwell, at a news conference, said Corporation Counsel Donna Leong’s office objected to the bill because it pertained to sites that are not business, commercial or industrial areas. City attorneys have repeatedly said sit-lie laws are best able to withstand constitutional challenges when there is proof that access to businesses are being blocked by people lying and sitting down.
"The Council applied this to areas that were not business and commercial, they applied it to residential- and apartment-zoned areas," the mayor said. "And we know for a fact, based on challenges on the mainland, that if it’s not in a commercial or business area, it’s subject to being overturned."
Caldwell said he worries that if a legal challenge were to strike down the new law, it could also impact the sit-lie ordinance covering other areas, including Waikiki and 14 business zones across Oahu. The city does not want to be in a position where "it looks like the government is trying to target homeless just because they’re homeless," he said.
In residential neighborhoods and other areas where the sit-lie law does not apply, complaints about people blocking pedestrian access can be dealt with using existing laws such as the stored property and sidewalk nuisance ordinances, he said.
Caldwell’s version, introduced by Councilman Ron Menor as Bill 43 late Friday, removes certain neighborhood blocks or sidewalks that were in the Council-passed version.
Among the areas not included in the new draft: in the Kukui Street area, the mauka, Beretania Street side of Aala Park; along Kapalama Canal, the portions of Kohou and Kokea streets that are mauka of King Street. Also removed is language referring to "unpaved, landscaped or unimproved public property" that do not fall under the definition of a sidewalk.
Council members, who have been disagreeing with Caldwell over the past year over how to address homelessness concerns, were cautious in their responses to Caldwell’s call to not override his veto of their bill and to instead support his version.
"The Council will consider a potential veto override given that the bill did pass out 7-2, so the votes would be there to override his veto," Council Chairman Ernie Martin told the Hono- lulu Star-Advertiser after Caldwell’s veto. However, he said, "If he’s truly sincere about offering an alternative for the Council to consider, at the minimum we should take a look at that bill."
Martin, who is attending a conference on Kauai, said he has not yet had a chance to read the bill. However, he said, his staff has told him the new plan is different from an earlier plan that the Council rejected without even a vote. The rejected proposal did not include any maps delineating where the sit-lie ban would apply, but the new draft does. "So it does warrant at least a review by the members," he said.
Councilman Joey Manahan, whose Kalihi district has seen an influx of homeless encampments particularly along Kapalama Canal and near Aala Park, echoed Martin’s comments. "If the bill can address our concerns, at least with Kapalama Canal and the Aala area … if it’s something that we can all agree on then sure, that would be great," he said.
Manahansaid he wants to see if the grassy areas beside the sidewalks along Kapalama Canal can be included.
Menor said he feels more comfortable with the newer version. He noted that when the Council chose to expand the sit-lie ordinance outside of Waikiki by adding areas around Oahu, city attorneys raised objections early and helped massage it to make it more legally defensible.
"I just don’t think that (Bill 6) the Council just passed is legally defensible," Menor said. "I agree with the mayor that the Council needs to work on a draft that passes constitutional muster."
Councilwoman Carol Fukunaga said she and her staff are going through the new bill carefully to ensure the concerns of area businesses can be addressed.
Additionally, the map attached to the new bill "does not quite match the legal descriptions," Fukunaga said. "We’re seeking community review of the revised draft."
Councilwoman Ann Kobayashi, who introduced Bill 6, said she hasn’t spoken to her colleagues about Caldwell’s plan.
"We worry about the small businesses in McCully-Moiliili, and I guess we’ve got to cover whatever we can," Kobayashi said.
Council members Brandon Elefante and Kymberly Pine have consistently voted against sit-lie legislation and were the two members who voted against Bill 6. Like other opponents, which include a number of homeless advocates, they contend sit-lie laws discriminate against the homeless and push those without shelter to set up encampments in neighborhoods where the ordinance is not in effect.
The veto was Caldwell’s first since becoming mayor in January 2014.
In related news, Caldwell on Thursday appeared to be willing to at least entertain the Council’s idea of putting up a transitional homeless shelter at the site of the Hilo Hattie flagship store in Iwilei.
"We’re open to every and all solutions," Caldwell said. "We’re not closing any doors."
Hilo Hattie, which is in bankruptcy, is looking at downsizing from the Iwilei facility, which is on land owned by the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation.
Managing Director Roy Amemiya said the city is working on submitting a "letter of intent" to bid on the property with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court. That will allow city officials to gain more detailed information about the property.
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On the Net:
» To see the vetoed Bill 6, go to bitly.com/CCHNLBill15-06
