With complaints about homeless increasing, Iowa City exploring options

IOWA CITY – Iowa City is considering adopting more regulations aimed at curbing what some people complain is worsening behavior among homeless people downtown.

The proposals are still in the works, but possibilities include limiting where people can lounge and preventing the storage of personal items on public space for extended periods. The latter is a new development and it's not unusual to see full shopping carts, televisions and even small appliances by benches on the Pedestrian Mall.

Improper behavior by some homeless downtown is a problem that has vexed the city for years, and it's back.

“It's probably the worst it's been,” said Terry Dickens, a City Council member and co-owner of Herteen & Stocker Jewelers.

The most popular spot for the homeless to congregate is outside his store at the corner of Dubuque and Washington streets. Dickens said people stack their personal items on the Ped Mall, and he said he sees more fights and drug use this summer than in the past.

On Tuesday afternoon, about a dozen downtown business people held a 30-minute sit-in on the Ped Mall benches in an attempt to show that the benches are for use by everyone, he said.

The call for changes is being pushed by the Iowa City Downtown District, whose leader said businesses are concerned that the situation is keeping people from shopping and eating downtown.

Executive Director Nancy Bird also said the objections are not the result of a general uneasiness with homeless or needy people.

“You should be picking up your garbage, and everyone should be treated in a respectable manner,” she said.

Bird sent a letter to downtown Iowa City businesses, including The Gazette, earlier this week that says the Downtown District board of directors is working with city officials and community service providers, and increasing maintenance and law enforcement efforts. She also included a form to file a complaint with the police.

On the city's end, local ordinances are being drafted to address the matter.

Geoff Fruin, Iowa City's assistant to the city manager, said it's too early to say what exactly will be presented to the City Council, but the city is aware there are complaints about personal items being stored in public spaces and people occupying and even sleeping on benches and planters for long periods.

“It's really trying to address the growing number of complaints or concerns that we're getting from businesses and patrons downtown,” he said, adding proposals probably will go to the council within the next few weeks.

This is not the first time the city has tackled this issue.

In 2010, the city banned asking for money within a certain distance of buildings, ATMs, crosswalks and mobile vendors, sending solicitors to a small strip in the middle of the Ped Mall. Aggressive panhandling also is prohibited.

It's also illegal to sit or lie on a downtown sidewalk, but benches and planters are exempt from that. That may be reviewed.

Mary Palmberg is director and volunteer coordinator for the Free Lunch Program, which serves many of the homeless who hang out on the Ped Mall. She said in past policies aimed at the homeless, city officials have been careful and considerate, and she has confidence in them.

“So if it takes some additional regulations … to make this space more available to a wider range of persons, that seems more reasonable to me,” she said.

Franklin Kebschull, 51, was less complimentary of city officials.

"They don't want us around here to start with,” he said.

Kebschull, who has a lengthy criminal history, said he lives on the Ped Mall seven days a week. He has a shopping cart full of possessions, including a TV he plugs into a nearby outlet to watch movies, that he keeps next to him as he sleeps on a bench.

Kebschull is not sure what he'll do with his stuff if he's forced to move it.

Officer David Schwindt, the downtown beat officer for the Police Department, said the storing of personal items is a new thing this year. He also said he's getting a lot of complaints of littering, reckless behavior and arguments, which hurt the downtown's reputation.

“It's not an unsafe environment, but it gives people the impression it is,” he said.

He added it's not just a homeless issue, however. Some of those causing problems have places to live.

Mark Carlson contributed to this report.