VS Tuesday, February 28, 2017 Volume 126, No. 94
OPINION
What it’s like: eating disorders PAGE 6
FORT COLLINS
DIVIDED
Top left to right: sit-lie ban protesters Nick “Ghost” Jones, Sam Odoidobahl, James DeBonis, Robert Wagner, Stephen Wildgen, Jeff McKissack. PHOTO BY JULIA TROWBRIDGE COLLEGIAN
Despite city denial, community says sit-lie ban targets homeless population By Rachel Telljohn @racheltelljohnt
Fort Collins has experienced a stir the past month, as a proposed city ordinance garnered public attention and controversy due to its perceived attack on the homeless. The drafted ordinance is what many are calling a sit-lie ban, because it will prohibit lying on sidewalks, leaving property unattended or reclining on benches. Many feel the ordinance will unfairly favors business owners or goers and targets the downtown area’s homeless population. A similar ban was proposed in 2015, but an initiative called Outreach Fort Collins, a community driven outreach for downtown, was enacted by the city instead, along with increased police resources. The city was
opposed to an outright ban, and Outreach was a way to compromise and help the homeless population, rather than harm them. The new ordinance has been in the works since the start of the the year, but beginning in February the city began to look for input from the community. The city held two external opportunities for community members to learn more about the new ordinance or, potentially, voice opinions during the month of February the city held an early morning coffee chat and an evening open house. A survey, which closed last Thursday night, was open to everyone and allowed for comments or opinions from survey takers. The city had already received hundreds of pages of commentary at the time of the open house Thursday evening. The ordinance
City officials have cited much of the ordinance as feedback received over the summer of 2016 largely from downtown business owners and from downtown visitors. The draft of the ordinance, as it stands now, would regulate three uses of public space, which many feel is a splitting of hairs between the ordinance proposed and what constitutes a sit-lie ban. Sitting or lying on sidewalks would not be allowed. It includes any plaza, square or planter. The concern from the city is that if an individual is lying on a sidewalk, it makes a storefront unapproachable or obstructs the sidewalk in a manner so that passersby cannot get through. The ordinance would also prohibit leaving personal property unattended. City officials have said this would mean, es-
sentially, no more property than what an individual is able to carry with them. This regulation stems from a concern for the use of public spaces for something other than their intended purpose, according to the city. Reclining or lying on a bench or chair would also be prohibited. One of the areas the city is concerned about is the garden planters throughout downtown. During the open house last Thursday, pictures were presented showing trampled planters as they had presumably been used as benches. One of the more contentious aspects to the ordinance, which would have restricted an individual to a mere one hour of sitting on a public bench, was struck from the ordinance by city council last Tuesday. see SIT-LIE on page 4 >>
SPORTS
Rams set for home opener PAGE 8
A&C
Puppies, beer, and yoga collide PAGE 10