Cathy Bussewitz, The Associated Press, August 06, 2015
HONOLULU (AP) — The Honolulu City Council is poised to further expand a ban on sitting and lying in public areas following complaints about homeless people.
The council plans to vote on two bills Wednesday that would extend the bans to pedestrian malls and the banks of city-owned streams.
Honolulu originally banned sitting and lying down in Waikiki nearly a year ago after tourists complained about homeless people living near the beach. At the time, there were plans to create a safe zone for camping in an industrial part of Honolulu, but that plan stalled.
Now city and state officials are looking for sites to provide shelter. Hawaii has the second-highest number of homeless people per capita in the nation. The issue gained attention after state Rep. Tom Brower was recently attacked at a homeless encampment.
This article was written by Cathy Bussewitz from The Associated Press and was legally licensed through the NewsCred publisher network.
