Watsonville city leaders consider new panhandling ordinance

Watsonville city leaders took one step forward in creating a new law targeted at cracking down on aggressive solicitors on Tuesday. The Watsonville Police Department said over the last year the city has seen an increase in homeless people and panhandling. Police said the Aggressive Solicitation Ordinance would work to reduce the problem.

“We also see it in the plaza area aside from larger shopping centers. The public libraries, and any area where there’s a large population of foot traffic,” Lt. Jorge Zamora said.

Taylor Brother’s Hot Dog stand, located across the street from the city plaza, has been open for 60 years. Employees said they’ve never had a problem with the homeless.

“We get a lot of homeless people, but they don’t bug us,” employee Monica Espinoza said.

Espinoza said staff members sometimes lend a helping hand.

“We’ll sometimes get money from our pocket that we have after we got paid and we’ll buy them coffee or a hot dog,” Espinoza said.

But not everyone feels the same way. Police said they are responding to panhandler complaints on a regular basis, but have no tools to combat the issue.

The ordinance says no aggressive solicitation can occur in public places such as bus stops, streets and intersections, or within 50 feet of banks. It also allows police to ticket panhandlers. Those cited multiple times could be charged with a misdemeanor.

“But also making sure that the community feels safe going to the store or buying groceries or just walking around,” Zamora said.

Police also plan to hand out resource cards to panhandlers, offering information about food banks and shelters. City council directed police to return in six months to further define what “aggressive” means before passing the law.