Joining a chorus of other mostly warm climate West Coast cities, Monterey will now fine anyone up to $100 if they sit or lie on sidewalks in the city's commercial areas during most waking hours.
The new city code, approved in July, goes into effect on Wednesday, and it bans "obstructions" from city sidewalks between 7 a.m. and 9 p.m. in sections of downtown, Cannery Row, Lighthouse Avenue and other areas.
"It's just gotten to the point where the safety of people walking up and down our sidewalks is in peril," Police Chief Philip Penko told NBC Bay Area affiliate KSBW.
Sit-lie ordinances have been adopted in San Francisco, Santa Cruz, Palo Alto, Seattle, Washington, Portland and Oregon. Honolulu just enacted a sit-lie ban in the "tourist mecca" last month. In fact, a 2009 survey of 235 cities by the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty showed that 33 percent prohibited lying or sitting in some public places.
Supporters argue that such rules are useful or necessary in keeping sidewalks free from obstruction, particularly for use by those in wheelchairs, and that they are a useful tool in fighting unsavory behavior. Critics argue that they are instead veiled attacks on the homeless.
A study conducted before Berkeley enacted its 2012 "civil sidewalks ordinance" by UC Berkeley Law students, found "no meaningful evidence to support the arguments that Sit-Lie laws increase economic activity or improve services to homeless people." Berkeley voters ultimately voted down a sit-lie measure in 2012.
Monterey law enforcers and leaders in City Hall told KSBW the new sit/lie law is necessary because an increasing number of "travelers" have been blocking sidewalks and aggressively panhandling.
City Council members said the "travelers" are mostly groups of young people who choose to live on the streets as they drift up and down California's coast.
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One councilwoman said the aim isn't to target homeless people, but more young drifters.
"Our truly homeless people are invisible. They are not down on Alvarado Street, or on the Transit Plaza hanging out. They are willing to get help," Councilwoman Nancy Selfridge told KSBW.
The ordinance will not apply to the city's 35 parks, five beaches and about 62 percent of sidewalks.
The rules say nothing about walking or standing on sidewalks - it's specifically targeting people who are sitting or lying on the public's right-of-way.
The ordinance contains exceptions for people:
(1) Experiencing a medical emergency
(2) Using a wheelchair or other device for mobility
(3) Sitting on a public bench or bus stop
(4) Operating or patronizing a commercial establishment conducted on the public sidewalk pursuant to an encroachment permit (e.g., a sidewalk cafe)
(5) Participating in or attending a parade
(6) Children seated in a stroller
