DUNBAR, W.Va. — The Dunbar City Council on Monday approved on first reading an ordinance which aimed at problems associated with vagrancy in the city. Mayor Bill Cunningham said vagrancy itself is not a crime, but the problems it has spawned in some cases need to address.
He believes the panhandling ordinance is a step in the right direction.
“Citizens have been complaining, and a lot of seniors are distressed by people approaching them panhandling and begging for money. Many have told us instead of going into a place to shop, they are approached and they just get back in their car and drive away,” Cunningham said.
The ordinance would require anyone wanting to solicit money to obtain a permit from the city. They permit would only be good on private property and only if the property owner also granted permission. Under the ordinance, public property would be off limits.
“Soliciting on a street, sidewalk, or public right of way, they would not be able to do it like we see a lot of times at the on-ramp of an interstate exit,” he said.
Cunningham said city officials are also attempting to have new state law passed which would criminalize squatting in a vacant building. Currently, violators are only cited for minor trespassing, but the problems, according to Cunningham, deserve a more severe charge.
“One of the ways to deal with it is to criminalize trespassing on condemned and abandoned properties. We’re working with our Senators and Delegates to make that a criminal offense,” the mayor said.
The ordinance, according to Cunningham, expands an ordinance that has been on the books since 1979.
The West Virginia ACLU has corresponded with the Mayor and asked the city to not pursue the ordinance. However, it’s now up for final approval at the city council’s next meeting.
“If the ACLU wants to proceed, I guess that will be tested in court and we’ll find out whether we can or cannot restrict that,” he said.