Come to the City Hall Sit-Out
Crossroads/Sisters of the Road Café and street roots are inviting the community to protest at City Hall, Wednesday September 18th, at 11:00 am. We are demanding that the Mayor suspend enforcement of the "sit-lie" law and engage in a public dialogue that includes homeless men and women. Our intention is to surround City Hall and sit on the sidewalk in non-violent protest to the City's increasing criminalization of the homeless and attacks on civil liberties. For more information, call crossroads at 503.228.2543 or street roots at 503.228.5657. You can also send e-mail to  jamie@sistersoftheroadcafe.org. A bit map graphic of a quarter sheet event flier for this protest is should be downloadable from this page. Otherwise it can be sent by request via e-mail.
A Note on Civil Disobedience:
Under the new enforcement guidelines people attending an event are not actually subject to the obstructions as nuisances ordinance. The guidelines also allow for one to sit on the sidewalk as long as they do not propose a "tripping hazard" and there is 6 to 8 feet of passable space. We assume that a protest qualifies as an event. We also intend to sit along the sidewalk around City Hall in manner that should be compliant with the new guidelines. The focus of this event is not intended to be civil disobedience toward the new guidelines, but we appreciate and support any individuals or groups who feel the need to engage in civil disobedience against the new guidelines at this or any other event.
Some Background:
Title 14 is the section of city code that governs the use public space. Over the past several years, the City Attorney's office began a process of rewriting this section of the city code. This revision was intended only to clarify the language in this code and to bring it into compliance with state law. In January of this year, attorneys from the Oregon Law Center, the ACLU of Oregon, and the Metropolitan Public Defenders objected to 13 of the proposed revisions in Title 14, which they said would "enact numerous new criminal offenses and . . . vastly expand the offenses that already exist." In April 9 more of the revision were opposed by the peoples organization, crossroads.
The most famous of these new criminal offenses is the proposed "Sit/Lie" ordinance. As written, the "Sit/Lie" ordinance made it illegal for a person to stand, sit or lie on a public right of way if that conduct " 'would cause' a pedestrian or other user of 'any part' of the right of way reasonably to take action to move around or avoid" that person." Because at any time a person stand, sits, or lies on the sidewalk she 'would cause' another using that particular area of the side walk to take action to move around her, the ordinance can be read to permit law enforcement officers to treat, any sitting, lying or standing on public right of way as criminal conduct.
Due to these legal objections and concerns raised by the community, the City Attorney's Office removed most of the objected to measures, including the "sit/lie" ordinance, from the new Title 14 passed last April. These measures will be given separate consideration by the City Council beginning some time this fall.
Mayor Katz is now saying that she will not pursue the "sit/lie" measure but instead seems to be relying on the new enforcement guidelines for the "Obstructions as Nuisances" law to create a de facto "sit/lie" ordinance. These new guidelines allow the police to ticket people standing on the side walk if there is less than 6 to 8 feet of passable space. The passable space guidelines do not include what is called the furnishing zone on the side walk, which makes the law incredibly restrictive. Any two people standing and talking to each other on the sidewalk will likely be in violation of the new guidelines. It also allows people to be ticketed if they are sitting and posing a "trip hazard." The word is that the new enforcement guidelines have already gone into effect, and the police have begun handing tickets out to "offenders."
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phone: 503.228.2543