Eureka City Council in the background, and City Manager Greg Sparks on the right in the foreground. | Bayley Brown

Last night, KHUM DJ and journalist Bayley Brown attended the Eureka City Council meeting, as she often does, and reported that the council unanimously passed the anti-panhandling amendments we wrote about yesterday.

In fact, Brown reported, City Attorney Cyndy Day-Wilson read portions of that LoCO post aloud, apparently so that the council could consider local attorney Peter E. Martin’s threats to sue over one aspect of the amendments — a ban on panhandling within 50 feet of a bus stop.

Martin told the Outpost he believes such a ban would be unconstitutional and suggested the City should decrease the measurement to within 10 feet of a bus stop. The council discussed the 50-foot measurement, with Councilmember Natalie Arroyo asking where that distance came from. Day-Wilson said it was copied from a Sacramento panhandling ordinance, and she believes the distance was inspired by the length of a bus plus 10 feet.

Day Wilson elaborated, saying the justification for this particular rule, like the ban on begging at gas stations, is to prohibit panhandlers from targeting a “captive audience.” Martin, who successfully sued the City of Arcata over its panhandling ordinance, told the Outpost earlier this week, “[T]here’s nothing sacred about waiting for a bus.”

After some discussion, the council ultimately decided to play their hand as dealt by staff and see if Martin is bluffing. “How may times has Mr. Martin sued us?” asked Councilmember Melinda Ciarabellini. “Let’s see what he has to say from the horse’s mouth.”

The amendments — and Day-Wilson’s report to the council — can be read in full here.