City Council passes sidewalk ordinance

The debate has wavered between the contentious and the absurd, but after months of discussion and weeks of arguing, the controversial sidewalk-behavior ordinance passed, as expected, through City Council last Thursday. The bill, first proposed in December by Council President John Street, will ban, among other offenses, aggressive panhandling, bike riding and prolonged sitting or lying on city sidewalks. The bill will take effect 120 days from the date it is signed into law. Kevin Feeley, a spokesperson for Mayor Ed Rendell, said the mayor intends to sign it soon. "We believe that the bill has a good chance to provide services for the homeless," Feeley said. However, at least for now, the law's reach -- and the services the bill's proponents have promised for the homeless people affected by the law -- will not extend across the Schuylkill River into University City. At the request of West Philadelphia Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell -- one of the ordinance's three opponents on the 17-member body -- Council exempted her entire Third District from the legislation. When she tried to bring the University City area back under the auspices of Street's bill on its second reading one week ago, her motion was defeated. Blackwell did not return several calls for comment over the last two days. But at-large Councilwoman Happy Fernandez, who lives in West Philadelphia, said that the uneven implementation of the ordinance could have disastrous implications for West Philadelphia. "University City would be like a sitting duck where people could walk across the river and say, 'Hey, we can panhandle here'," she said, adding that the area would also be hurt by being denied access to the $6 million in new city services the mayor has promised for the homeless. But Fernandez held out hope that the law's reach would be expanded. She explained that if any amendments were passed last week, "the whole bill would have been held up until September." Last Thursday was Council's last day in session before its summer recess and members wanted the city to begin planning additional programs for the homeless as soon as possible, Fernandez explained. Carol Scheman, Penn's vice president for government, community and public affairs, said that the bill would be amended soon to include the areas around the University. Scheman indicated that Blackwell spoke with Street and that amendments to the bill will be introduced before it takes effect in the fall. "The ordinance doesn't take effect for 120 days and it will be amended way before then," she said. "There's nothing to worry about. To the extent that the bill is enforced in the city, it will be enforced in all areas evenly." "There's no reason to think this bill will negatively impact West Philadelphia," she added.