Honolulu has widened its ban on sitting and lying down in public places, despite a mayoral veto and criticism that it targets homeless people for the benefit of wealthy tourists. The city council voted 6-3 on Wednesday to override Mayor Kirk Caldwell's veto of the expanded ban, which now prohibits reclining on sidewalks in commercial parts of Waikiki and along a canal bank where a tent city had emerged.
City lawmakers proposed the ban last autumn after tourism officials reported complaints from visitors about Oahu's homeless population. Mayor Caldwell vetoed the expansion, warning it could open the city to lawsuits that might undermine a less stringent version of the ban. 'If they make an argument that this legislation is based on targeting homeless, and not about commerce and business, then the whole bill is jeopardised,' Caldwell told reporters. He nonetheless promised to enforce the new law and defend it in court.
Councilman Joey Manahan, who voted for the ban, said it should be expanded to neighbourhoods where homeless people have retreated. 'I ended up with a tent city on the banks of the Kapalama Canal. The public doesn't understand why it isn't already illegal to pitch a tent in downtown Honolulu,' he said. Councilman Ron Menor, who voted against the ban, warned that taxpayers would pay if the city lost a legal challenge. He introduced a new proposal to narrow the ban to commercial zones.
Two council members voted against the ban, arguing it wrongly targeted homeless people. Councilwoman Kymberly Marcos Pine said, 'It has just gotten out of control.' The director of Hawaii's Institute for Human Services, Connie Mitchell, defended the ban, saying it works alongside a temporary housing programme to get homeless people off beaches. 'People are coming into the shelter. It's working the way it's supposed to,' she said.
Penalties for violating the ban range from warnings to fines and forcible removal. The Honolulu police enforce the law equally against everyone, including tourists. Tourists facing citations can plead guilty by mail or fight the charge in person; failure to do so can lead to a criminal warrant. Some tourists caught up in legal hassles have said the trouble has discouraged them from returning to Hawaii.
In 2011, Waikiki tried to establish 'safe zones' for homeless people away from tourists, modelling the law after a Seattle programme. Mayor Caldwell has pursued a $42m Housing First programme, which will not begin until later this year. In the interim, the city has developed a 'transition centre' on Sand Island, which was used as an internment camp for Japanese-Americans during the Second World War. 'We have never promised we are going to solve homelessness, and I don't think anyone who does is being honest,' Caldwell said in December. 'But I think we can make a dent.'
