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Council expands high-traffic zones where public solicitation is restricted; second reading passes Sept. 9
Summary
City Council approved a second reading Sept. 9 to expand the city’s public-solicitation ordinance high-traffic zones to include segments of Haywood Road, Patton Avenue and Merrimon Avenue, preserving the right to hold a sign while restricting active solicitation in designated areas.
On second and final reading Sept. 9, City Council adopted an amendment to the city’s public solicitation ordinance (Ordinance No. 5170) to add specified segments of Haywood Road, Patton Avenue and Merrimon Avenue to the list of designated "high-traffic zones" where certain forms of active solicitation are restricted. The ordinance preserves the right to hold a passive sign but restricts communicative solicitation in high-traffic zones where enforcement officers may restrict speech that meets the ordinance’s definition of solicitation in those locations. During council discussion staff clarified that the burden of proof in any prosecution rests with the district attorney’s office; the city’s police department enforces the local ordinance while preserving procedures for individuals to request body-camera footage: a person captured in body-camera footage may request to view that footage by written request to the chief law enforcement officer. Council considered practical effects and civil-liberties questions during the first reading; on second reading the council voted to adopt the expanded high-traffic list with a recorded vote (6–1). The ordinance requires no further administrative steps to take effect other than standard implementation by police and city departments.
