Berkeley Targets Smoking by Homeless

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/05/16/BAG40PRP5U1.DTL&hw=berkeley+smoking&sn=001&sc=1000

Berkeley's homeless plan: a new smoking law
Phillip Matier, Andrew Ross
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
SF Chronicle

Matier & Ross

Berkeley figures it's found a way to get homeless people off the
streets. Keep them from smoking there.
As Mayor Tom Bates sees it, the alcoholics, meth addicts and the like
who make up a good portion of the homeless population on Shattuck
Avenue downtown and Telegraph Avenue on the south side of the UC
Berkeley campus "almost always smoke." And because smoking bans are
the hot ticket these days for California cities, why not meld the two
as part of a "comprehensive package" for dealing with the street
problem that Bates says "has gone over the top"?
In this case, vagrants could be cited for taking a drag on the town's
main drags.
Other ideas Bates is pitching include making it easier for cops to
cite sidewalk sleepers during business hours, adding community
policing and beefing up social services.
Bates has even come up with a politically correct way to pay for the
program -- proposing that drivers pay an extra 50 cents an hour for
parking citywide.
Plus, he proposes adding meters to such heavily trafficked areas as
the blocks around the popular Berkeley Bowl market on the south side
of town.
So far, Bates' ideas seem to be fitting fine with the Berkeley
mind-set. When the smoking ban came up for discussion before the City
Council last week, it was smooth sailing.
"I don't see anyone on the council voting against it,'' said
Councilman Kriss Worthington. "In fact, it's possible that some
council members would ban smoking throughout the entire city."
Still, Worthington -- who sponsored a resolution in 2001 aimed at
keeping cops from citing people for sleeping on city sidewalks --
said he didn't think the mayor's plan would change much of anything
when it comes to the homeless problem.
"My interest is in making things better for the homeless and
business,'' Worthington said. "And none of these things -- a bunch of
new laws -- look like they will do.
"We could walk down Telegraph Avenue right now and I could point out
two dozen people breaking the law,'' Worthington said. "We have the
laws. It's a question of enforcement."
Worthington said he wasn't opposed to Bates' plan. But if the mayor
takes it up a notch and tries to, say, ban people from sitting on the
sidewalk, he'll be on the on the streets with petitions to repeal it.
As for the Berkeley Chamber of Commerce, it's definitely on board.
"We love the plan,'' said Chairman Roland Peterson. "We just hope
(it) doesn't get watered down. I think the mayor is just testing the
waters to see how far the council is willing to go.''
And the parking fee hike to pay for all this? Bates figures the extra
50 cents, bringing the hourly tab to $1.50, plus the new meters could
net the city $2 million a year.
Bates concedes that higher parking fees might prompt some shoppers to
shop elsewhere.
On the other hand, friendlier, smoke-free streets might also make the
extra quarters seem the healthy choice.