An ordinance on homelessness and public conduct in the borough was tabled late last month at a meeting of commissioners despite weeks of public concerns and discussion.
The decision was initially made on Sept. 8, but because it came at a commissioners’ work session, official action was delayed until Sept. 29.
The ordinance originally included a ban on homeless people sleeping in the business district and penalties for those using “insulting or indecent language” in public. It also made it illegal to block roads, trails or walkways with their belongings.
Commissioner Itir Cole addressed what tabling the proposed ordinance means for the commissioners moving forward.
“What this has done is kicked off an entire process of research for us,” he explained, “The first step was to open it up to public comment to get a vibe of the community and where people want to take this. The community came out. We heard from folks.
“But that doesn’t mean that we’re not recognizing that this is a problem or that we don’t want to do something about it, or we want to ignore it.”
Cole noted that commissioners have researched the issue on their own time. They estimate that there are four to six consistently homeless people in the borough, while reports to police involving such individuals have gone from 88 last year to 144 this year.
The ordinance has drawn a public backlash since its introduction in the summer, with residents expressing concerns about its language and intentions. During the public comment section of the Sept. 29 meeting, some of them voiced concerns, eventually supporting the tabling to allow for more community input.
Kathy Magee expressed gratitude to the commissioners for listening to concerns.
“I think it’s really good when you hear the citizens, and you obviously did,” she said. “So we appreciate that. And I also wanted to say that there are people out there that would be willing to help on committees.”
Beth Wolf, another resident, also raised concerns.
“It’s scary, and we need to find a balance, because the community does not feel safe,” she noted. “I’m speaking for a lot of other people who are afraid to come up and speak for fear of retaliation against their business, for fear of retaliation against their kids.”
Jack Tarditi offered a different view on the homeless problem.
“They are residents of our community, too, just as well as we are,” he argued. “The difference is they have no structure in which they can live … I’ve not heard of any criminal acts … that could directly be attributed to these folks that elected to select our community.”
He went on to suggest that the Human Relations Commission and a Council of Churches social worker could help the borough’s homeless find safe places to reside.
In other business, the commissioners agreed to request that Woodmont make amendments to its plans for the Bancroft properties. Woodmont did agree to extend controls on the property’s units from the original 30 years to 40.
