Assemblyman moves to end law that limits sidewalk sitting

Traini said he voted for the law "based on information the ACLU had no opposition to it. The ACLU is a pretty good safeguard of civil liberties."

The law, which bans sitting on sidewalks downtown except at night, and with some other exceptions, passed Nov. 23 on a 7-4 vote.

During Assembly debate, Traini asked city attorney Dennis Wheeler whether Wheeler thought the law would be defensible if the ACLU took the sidewalk restrictions to court.

"This ordinance was run by the ACLU," Wheeler said, according to a transcript of the exchange.

"Did they have any problems with it?" Traini asked.

"They did not have any problems with it," Wheeler replied.

But Wheeler sent word to the Anchorage Assembly last week that he misspoke when he said the proposal had been "run by" the American Civil Liberties Union.

"This was a poor choice of words," Wheeler said in an email distributed to Assembly members. His office had not sent the latest version of the sidewalk sitting restrictions to the ACLU, he said.

Wheeler said in the email, "I believed the ACLU was also aware of the revised version. I also thought at least one Assembly member had told me they had shared the ordinance with the ACLU."

Traini said he will introduce proposals at today's Assembly meeting to rescind the Assembly action or repeal the law. The outcome would be the same -- voiding the law. A vote to rescind could take place on Dec. 13, while a vote to repeal would take longer.

"My concern is if went to court, the ACLU would simply show Dennis Wheeler misstated their support of it," Traini said.

Under the law, effective Dec. 22, it will be illegal to sit or recline on downtown sidewalks from 6 a.m. to midnight weekdays and until 2:30 a.m. Friday and Saturday nights. There are exceptions for circumstances such as medical emergencies, waiting at a bus stop, and even waiting to buy food from a street vendor.

The law also prohibits intentionally obstructing either vehicle or pedestrian traffic, panhandling after dark, and panhandling downtown.

The idea for the sidewalk restrictions arose as city officials looked for a way to deal with homeless protester John Martin, who sat and reclined on the sidewalk in front of City Hall or across the street for weeks, saying he was protesting city homeless policies. City administrators said they realized there was no law against sitting there.

The Assembly considered an initial version of the law in July, but killed it by postponing it indefinitely.

ACLU attorney Tom Stenson said the ACLU had some concerns about the proposal at that time, but decided to wait and see how it would be enforced, if it passed.

The ACLU did not speak out when a similar ordinance came up again this fall, but does have concerns, Stenson said.

In the latest version, Stenson said, the city extended the hours during which sitting on sidewalks would be banned -- until 2:30 a.m. Friday and Saturday nights. In Seattle, the model for the Anchorage law, sidewalk sitting is only banned until 9 p.m., Stenson said. A court might ask why Anchorage needs a longer restriction, he said.

Stenson also said the backdrop for the ordinance -- the Martin sit-in -- suggests the law is not aimed at the problem of keeping sidewalks clear. "It makes it seem like the ordinance was trying to make it harder to engage in expressive conduct," he said.

Mayor Dan Sullivan said the sidewalk law was thoroughly vetted and there's no need to revisit it.

The city proposed banning sidewalk sitting for more hours daily than Seattle because there's more daylight here during the summertime, Sullivan said.

"The ordinance stands on its own," he said.