Milford City Council voted on Monday to adopt an ordinance penalizing anyone who stands in or blocks a road within 200 feet of an intersection – the product of months’ worth of conversations largely centered on panhandling.
Last October, the council cast the original proposal as a pedestrian safety measure, saying pedestrians standing in the right-of-way near intersections risk being hit by cars. But during a public workshop that month, the proposal faced pushback from those arguing it would primarily impact low-income people – especially people experiencing homelessness – who panhandle at busy intersections.
Unlike the previous version, this ordinance doesn’t specify a fine; instead, Milford’s code defaults to a $100 to $500 fine for violating any ordinances without a defined penalty.
Echoing concerns aired at the public workshop last fall, Vice Mayor Jason James said he’s hesitant to impose any fine for violating the ordinance given it would primarily impact extremely low-income people panhandling at major intersections.
“If you have someone in the intersection in violation, more likely than not, you can have a fine, but you won’t collect it," he said. "Now, if someone is blocking an intersection with a vehicle, should you have a fine? Maybe so - I don’t know.”
Milford Police Chief Cecilia Ashe argues Delaware judges are newly empowered to reduce or waive fines they believe defendants will be unable to pay and suggests council can trust the judiciary to make the right decisions.
“If we were to enforce this ordinance, it would go before a judge who would have the ability to recognize that a person isn’t financially stable enough," she said. "And then the judge could have a say on a case-by-case basis.”
Council members also looked at amending the ordinance to allow a warning for first offenses, but Ashe says police officers can already use their discretion to do that and requiring a warning first would undermine that discretion.
Ultimately, the council adopted the ordinance with only one vote in opposition.
Milford's new ordinance is based on a similar law adopted in Seaford last year. Dover's city council recently opted not to move forward with a proposal to revamp the city's loitering ordinance.
