City hopes to curb ‘undesirable’ behaviours with Public Spaces Bylaw
By Al Beeber - Lethbridge Herald on May 11, 2022.
LETHBRIDGE HERALDabeeber@lethbridgeherald.com City council on Tuesday unanimously gave second and third reading to an amended public spaces bylaw as recommended by the Community Safety Standing Policy Committee in April.The purpose of the bylaw is to clearly outline expected behaviour in public spaces. The bylaw lists undesirable behaviours in the city including littering, public urination, spitting, graffiti, bullying, fireworks, weapons and panhandling.
A report to council says the intent of the bylaw is to define expected behaviour and educate the public about community standards, not to persecute people.
A report submitted by Duane Ens of Regulatory Services says the current streets bylaw has provisions which city police use to address undesirable behaviours here. A working group looking to revamp the bylaw determined that it’s not the best place for provisions related to managing public behaviour. Streets bylaws are intended as a way of addressing matters that impede traffic and in other communities, it’s common to have a separate bylaw to identify undesirable behaviours in public spaces.
The bylaw comes into effect July 1.
The purpose of the bylaw isn’t to persecute members of the public, councillor Rajko Dodic said while discussing it, but rather to provide education to the public about community standards.
Acting mayor Belinda Crowson told council during debate while she would vote for the bylaw she was concerned that everyone in the city would be treated equally under it. She also expressed concerns that some in the community might unfairly charge others with certain behaviours.
Peace officers will be enforcing the bylaw. Infractions come with the potential of a minimum $300 fine after other approaches such as warnings fail to stop certain conduct.
“It’s not targeting anybody specific,” said Dodic, adding certain behaviours are “causing angst” in the community.
City solicitor Brian Loewen said mechanisms are in place to deal with people who make fraudulent complaints or who abuse the system.
Input was gathered from different groups during the formation of the bylaw. They included downtown business owners, the police, the Reconciliation Lethbridge Advisory Committee, and city departments such as Transportation, Infrastructure, Regulatory Services and the City Solicitor’s Office. Follow @albeebHerald on Twitter 4
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