Committee amends loitering penalty at streetcar and BRT platforms to minor misdemeanor

Council Member Mark Jeffries moved an amendment to Ordinance 7 23 77 to change the penalty for loitering at streetcar platforms and future bus-rapid-transit (BRT) platforms from a fourth-degree misdemeanor (which can carry jail time) to a minor misdemeanor, capped at a fine of up to $150.

Jeffries said the change preserves the standard that transit platforms are for riders while avoiding what he called an “over the top” penalty that could result in jail time for people who are merely "hanging out" at a platform. "That seems a little over the top more than over the top," Jeffries said of the prior fourth-degree classification. He offered the amendment as a motion; the committee chair asked for a second, which was recorded but not named on the transcript. The committee conducted a roll call on the amendment; Chair Scotty Johnson, Council Member Anna Albee and Council Member Mark Jeffries each voted yes.

After the roll call, the chair said the committee would move item 5 on for passage at full council and that a "B version" of the ordinance would be made available for the council meeting the next day.

The amendment reduces the maximum penalty from potential jail time under a fourth-degree misdemeanor to a civil fine-structured minor misdemeanor (maximum $150). Committee members praised the amendment as aligning the penalty with the intended purpose of keeping platforms available for transit users rather than imposing custodial punishment for loitering.

The committee recorded the amendment as passed and moved the ordinance forward to the full City Council for consideration.