Save Austin Now issued the following announcement on Feb. 24.
AUSTIN, TX — Today a coalition of organizations and concerned citizens, convened by the nonpartisan nonprofit Save Austin Now, announced a signature effort to put an ordinance on the November ballot to restore public safety to Austin. The ballot language reinstates the ban on homeless camping citywide, restores the sit/lie ordinance to downtown and extends it to the UT campus and surrounding area, and bans panhandling at night citywide from 7pm-7am.
The ordinance language was drafted by Austin attorneys Barry McBee and Donna Davidson. The coalition of organizations working on this effort include Save Austin Now, the Austin Police Association, and SafeHorns, among others who are publicly and privately assisting.
On July 17, an online petition was created to reinstate the ban on homeless camping. It now has nearly 90,000 signatures. The petition is available at http://www.SaveAustinNowPetition.com.
“There is absolutely no debate that Austin is less safe under the disastrous homeless camping ordinance that took effect July 1st of last year,” said Save Austin Now co-founder Matt Mackowiak. “The Mayor and City Council refuse to admit their mistake, so it is up to the citizens to fix their mess. We are proposing that our city go back to where it was in June, before Council Member Greg Casar pushed through the homeless camping ordinance without considering the risks posed to public safety, public health, tourism and the image of Austin. In the meantime, worthy public and private efforts will continue to increase housing, shelters, and encampments for homeless individuals in Austin.”
“As a lifelong Democrat who has sheltered homeless individuals in my home, this issue is personal to me,” said Save Austin Now co-founder Cleo Petricek. “This is a standard of living issue for every neighborhood in Austin. Our city leaders have not listened, so we must take action ourselves. There is no partisan angle to wanting a safe neighborhood. The city’s tone deaf and arrogant leadership has created hundreds of grassroots organizers since July 1st and now we are taking the concerns that our fellow Austinites have expressed and working to save our city.”
“The Austin Police Association is honored to attach our name to the Save Austin Now coalition efforts to reinstate the camping ban,” said Austin Police Association president Ken Casaday. “The taxpaying citizens of Austin were never truly allowed to participate in the process of making changes to the city ordinance. Additionally, the Chief of Police was ignored on this important public safety issue. We believe it’s time for the community to have a say in an ordinance that drastically affects Austinites and our tourism industry.”
"As a coalition of concerned parents, students, alumni and stakeholders focused on improving safety on and around UT Austin for the last five years, we feel strongly in supporting this effort,” said SafeHorns president Joell McNew. "We wish the City of Austin had agreed to the request of the UT Police Chief to exempt the UT campus from the repeal of the no-camping ordinance, but they refused. We believe that the combination of banning homeless camping citywide, extending the sit/lie ordinance to the UT campus and surrounding areas and banning panhandling at night will dramatically improve the ability for police to be a front line in getting homeless the services and help they need, while protecting both students and the homeless from those who wish to prey on their vulnerabilities.”
To learn more, please visit http://www.SaveAustinNow.com.
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Original source can be found here.
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