Belen’s panhandling ordinance detailed
Law restricts ‘aggressive’ actions
BELEN – After many modifications in the wording of a new city law, the Belen City Council earlier this month voted unanimously to adopt a new ordinance, which city officials hope will stop aggressive panhandling and certain forms of solicitation in the city.
This summer, Belen Mayor Jerah Cordova said the issue came up after several citizens complained about people who had been aggressively asking for money. After several meetings and workshops, and a few rewrites by the city’s attorney, the council voted late last month to adopt the new ordinance.
According to the ordinance, aggressive panhandling, along with vagrancy is unlawful in the Hub City.
“One of the incidents that was of concern was that we had a particular transient in town who, at 2 or 3 in the morning, was walking down one of our streets, ringing doorbells and asking to go into people’s houses and asking for money,” Cordova said. “We really want to put a stop to that.”
The new ordinance states aggressive panhandling means:
1. Approaching or speaking to a person, or following a person before, during or after soliciting, if that conduct is intended or is likely to cause a reasonable person to fear bodily harm or loss of property or otherwise be intimidated into giving money or other thing of value;
2. Continuing to solicit from a person or continuing to engage that person after the person has given a negative response to such soliciting;
3. Intentionally or recklessly touching or causing physical contact with another person or that person’s property without that person’s consent in the course of soliciting;
4. Intentionally or recklessly blocking or interfering with the safe or free passage of a pedestrian or vehicle by any means, including unreasonably causing a pedestrian or vehicle operator to take evasive action to avoid physical contact;
5. Using violent, obscene or threatening gestures toward a person solicited;
6. Following behind, ahead or alongside the person being solicited, with the intent of asking that person for money or other things of value, after the person being solicited has walked away from or verbally declined the panhandler;
7. Soliciting from a person in a vehicle after the person has declined the panhandler by any reasonable means, including, but not limited to, closing a window, honking, or the like;
8. Speaking in a volume unreasonably loud under the circumstances; or
9. Using a minor to solicit on behalf of an adult, whether by passive, active or verbal actions of the minor, including, but not limited to, directing, influencing, or allowing a minor to approach any vehicle. Provided, that this prohibition shall not apply to an organized fund-raising activity for an organization such as a school, club or service organization and in which an adult is present and supervising the minor(s).
It is also unlawful for a person to solicit money in an aggressive manner in any public place, within 15 feet of public toilets, within 15 feet of any entrance to any financial institution, such as check cashing businesses, an automated teller machine facility, bank or credit union.
People are also not allowed to solicit money while under the influence of alcohol or a controlled substance, in any public transportation vehicle, within 15 feet of any handicapped parking space and in an area not sufficiently illuminated to allow the person being solicited to be able to see the other person at a distance of 15 feet.
Anyone found guilty of violating this ordinance, a misdemeanor, can be fined not more than $500 or imprisoned for 90 days in jail or both. Cordova said earlier this year that people asking for money had been aggressive with people outside businesses or on street corners.