Iowa City business owners want further tightening of panhandling laws

Iowa City toughened up its panhandling laws last year, but downtown business owners want the city to do more.

The Downtown Association board of directors has asked the City Council to ban soliciting for donations from the entire Pedestrian Mall, keep those who ask for money farther away from downtown businesses and attractions, and require solicitors to register with the city.

The organization, which has more than 60 members, also wants to keep the Pedestrian Mall smoke-free during the day and early evening.

Leah Cohen, president of the Downtown Association and owner of Bo-James restaurant and bar, said panhandlers scare away some customers.

“Whether it's perceived or real, it's there,” she said. “And we certainly do not want anyone feeling threatened by anything.”

The issue probably will come before the council at a work session after the new year, interim City Manager Dale Helling said.

Early last year, the council voted to make it illegal to request an immediate donation of money in the downtown within 20 feet of an ATM and within 10 feet of a sidewalk cafe, a building entrance, the downtown playground or a mobile vendor.

The law applies to people and organizations, but it was enacted amid complaints about aggressive panhandling.

The Downtown Association's board recently voted unanimously to request that those distances be increased to 25 feet and that solicitors be at least 50 feet apart.

Terry Dickens, who was recently elected to the City Council and is co-owner of Herteen & Stocker Jewelers, said the 10-foot rule has helped some, but panhandlers still sit near the doorway of his Ped Mall business. And banning smoking from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. on the Ped Mall would help with loitering problems, he said.

“It needs to be just a little more because they are impeding people and, whether we like it or not, they're scaring people,” Dickens said.

The proposal doesn't bother Ralph Johnson, who often is found sitting in his wheelchair at the corner of Clinton and Washington streets holding a sign asking for help. He said he panhandles to help cover the copays for medicine he takes for debilitating back, leg and shoulder pain.

Johnson, 57, of Iowa City, said he simply holds his sign, away from storefronts, and isn't as aggressive as some downtown panhandlers.

“I'm not that way,” he said. “If people want to donate, they'll donate.”

He also wouldn't have a problem registering with the city, something already done in Waterloo and Bettendorf.

Bettendorf City Attorney Greg Jager said anyone can get a permit for free there. Earlier this month there were 12 outstanding licenses, he said.

Iowa City Attorney Eleanor Dilkes said her office will research the legal issues raised by the Downtown Association's proposal. Some communities across the nation have seen their panhandling laws challenged in court, often on free speech grounds.

“The law in this area takes a lot of analysis and review and courts don't always come out in the same way, and we don't have a lot of precedence in Iowa,” Dilkes said.

The Downtown Association is asking the council to install boxes to collect money for organizations that help the needy, something Denver and San Francisco have tried.