Aldermen Ban Loitering in Designated Public Locations

The Carrboro Board of Aldermen adopted an ordinance Tuesday that prohibits loitering in the Town Commons, the Century Center, town parking lots and bus shelters.

Reports of loitering in bus shelters by police and transit authority personnel have increased since the transit system adopted fare-free bus services a year ago.

Police Chief Carolyn Hutchison proposed the ordinance to the board last year to increase the capacity of officers to regulate loitering in these areas.

At the meeting, board member John Herrera translated for Norma Herrera and Lupe Ariza, two Spanish-speaking women who took part in the public discussion of harassment at the bus stops.

Both women described the intimidation and harassment they and their children endure at the bus stop across from The Pantry, where they bring their laundry.

Norma Herrera, who brought her two sons to the podium with her, said her children had witnessed violence and had been tapped on the shoulder by drunken men at the stop.

Ariza said she no longer felt safe at the stop. To avoid the area, she shunned the fare-free bus system and walked long distances from her home, sometimes with her children.

Both women described being assaulted verbally by aggressive panhandlers.

The board considered two possible versions of the ordinance. The first granted police the authority to order people they determined to be loitering to leave. The second gave police authority to ban people who engaged in more specific behaviors, such as disorderly conduct or possession of a concealed weapon, from a bus stop for one year.

The second version of the ordinance passed. The new ordinance amended an existing loitering ordinance that covered Town Hall, the police and fire stations and the Public Works building.

When John Herrera expressed concern about including the Century Center in the list of areas covered, a Carrboro community member informed the board about her experiences with people wandering into the Center with no intent on using its services.

"People would come in, plop down on the floor and not say a thing," she said. "When you unlock the conference room in the morning and there's somebody sitting there, it's upsetting. We do have a lot of patronage, and we are concerned with how those people are feeling."

Board members Herrera, Diana McDuffee, Alex Zaffron and Jacquelyn Gist approved the ordinance over one dissenting vote by Joal Broun, who said she based her opinion on her 11 years of experience as assistant public defender for Orange and Chatham counties.

"I think (the second version) was appropriate," she said. "It didn't add what I considered to be a superfluous law on the books. It's just the method I'm concerned about."

Decision on the ordinance has been deferred twice, but because absent Mayor Mike Nelson and board member Mark Dorosin canceled each other's votes in past meetings, the board decided to vote without them.

Gist and Broun will discuss the implementation of the ordinance further at this weekend's board retreat.

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