'Sit-lie' bills need shelter plan in place first
By Ikaika Anderson, Opinion Editorial to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser
POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Aug 03, 2014
I certainly have not walked away from the so-called "sit-lie" sidewalk bills.
The main reason the City Council's Zoning and Planning Committee deferred the bills on July 24 was to allow for more discussion on the timing of the law's rollout in conjunction with the rollout of Housing First.
In regards to a Waikiki-versus-islandwide ban, citizens from Kakaako, Chinatown, Moiliili, Windward Oahu and the Waianae Coast, all have shared with the Council the impacts of homelessness in their com- munities since the Waikiki prohibition bill, Bill 42, was introduced. It would be unfair not to take into consideration the pleas of other communities to address their concerns at the same time we address Waikiki.
Councilmembers Ann Kobayashi and Carol Fukunaga stood with me in co-introducing Bill 45, which allows the sit-lie sidewalk prohibition to be applied islandwide. They, too, agree if the ordinance is applied only to Waikiki that it will cause the homeless to set up camp in neighboring communities, which is akin to kicking the can down the road.
Concerns have been raised about the constitutionality of an islandwide ban and we are looking closely at those issues with city attorneys.
We also listened to powerful testimony given at the Zoning and Planning Committee from the Martin family: a homeless father, his wife and their toddler, who described how homeless families with young children are handled during the sweeps.
The Martins also testified that the homeless from Waikiki have already started to migrate into the Kakaako area, a place occupied heavily by homeless people with children.
Their testimony did not fall on deaf ears. The Martins got our attention and raised questions as to how the law would be enforced on homeless families with children. As a father myself, I am not OK with a blanket approach for all of those who would violate the sit-lie law, especially when the violators are keiki. It is necessary to have more discus- ions as to how the law will address our most vulnerable homeless.
To be clear, I wholeheartedly support the passage of an islandwide sit-lie prohibition once the city administration provides the Council with a solid timetable of its rollout on Housing First. If we are to create the laws that will encourage these people to seek shelter, at least a portion of the shelter plan must be in place.
All of the bills will be placed on the Aug. 28 agenda of the Zoning and Planning Committee. I am currently meeting with the administration and other stakeholders to get answers before then.
The rollout of Housing First must not take years; this crisis can't wait years for a solution. The mayor needs to "grasp the nettle" and take immediate action to bring online the shelter that the homeless people, and the residents they impact, surely need.
When that happens, the sit-lie laws will provide the enforcement necessary to encourage homeless to take the help offered with Housing First.
I encourage the mayor to allow all the sit-lie bills passed by the Council to become law, with or without his signature.
Photo: Star-Advertiser