a. The Board of Commissioners finds that passive panhandling, begging, charitable and political solicitation as defined in this Subchapter is speech protected under the First Amendment unless other well-grounded governmental concerns are implicated. Passive panhandling, begging, charitable and political solicitation in the traffic or travel lanes of public streets and highways or in traffic medians within those public streets or highways is inherently dangerous, is distracting to both pedestrians and drivers of motor vehicles, gives rise to an increased risk of injury to pedestrians and the motor vehicle occupants, interferes with the free flow of traffic and potentially threatens the safety and well-being of nearby third parties. The traffic or travel lanes of public streets and highways and the medians within those public streets and highways are not designed for and are not an appropriate location for anything other than travel. This Subchapter provides ample alternative sites for passive panhandling, begging, charitable and political solicitation in areas that do not give rise to enhanced public safety concerns, personal privacy concerns and personal security concerns. Accordingly, passive panhandling, begging, charitable and political solicitation is permitted in the City except as otherwise prohibited below.
b. Passive panhandling, begging, charitable and political solicitation is prohibited in areas defined as areas with heightened personal security concerns, areas with heightened personal privacy concerns and areas with heightened public safety concerns. For the purposes of this subsection, passive panhandling, begging, charitable and political solicitation specifically includes an attempt by a pedestrian to enter into an area with heightened public safety concerns in order to exchange or attempt to exchange any item with the occupant of a motor vehicle while the vehicle is located in areas with heightened public safety concerns as defined above and any solicitation is prohibited by both the solicitor and the occupant of the motor vehicle. Passive panhandling, begging, charitable and political solicitation is allowed on areas of sidewalks not otherwise prohibited by this Subchapter, but no such solicitation may include any attempts to solicit in areas with heightened public safety concerns.
(Ord. BG2018-3, 1/16/2018)