The Public Commons for Everyone Initiative

The Public Commons for Everyone Initiative (PCEI) was passed by the Berkeley City Council on November 27, 2007. The initiative recognizes that, despite the allocation of a $2.89 million of city funds to address the issue, there is a growing public perception than many of the “public spaces” in the city are uninviting or dangerous, due to the aggressive behavior of what the Initiative terms “transition age youth who hang out on Berkeley’s streets . . . [a] number of [which] . . . suffer from mental disability, have alcohol or other drug addictions . . . [and] may also be homeless.” In short, the PCEI is an effort to formulate a response to the perceived hostile environment created by the transient and homeless in the downtown area. Specifically, the PCEI identifies aggressive panhandling, public urination, littering and the blockage of public sidewalks by prone bodies as causes of the perceived hostility.

To address these issues, the Council adopted the PCEI recommendations, including:
• Increased accessibility to public toilets;
• Expanded permanent and supportive housing opportunities;
• Additional homeless outreach worker;
• More public seating and trash receptacles;
• Increased parking meter fees to support new services;
• Amended ordinances on lying and lodging on sidewalks;
• Expanded smoking prohibitions;
• Create transition-age youth daytime programs.

To fund these initiatives, the Council approved raising rates at parking meters by $0.25/hr, which is estimated to raise $1 million over the next year, equivalent to the amount the Initiative will cost.

Regarding public restrooms, the Initiative cites “universal support” by the various groups consulted in its drafting for expanded access to public restrooms. The Initiative will keep restrooms in public garages open during the entire operating hours of those garages, a 2-hour extension in most cases, extends the operating hours of other public restrooms until Midnight, again a 2-hour extension, and creates a Visitor Restroom Program with four businesses on Telegraph and Shattuck avenues, paying these businesses a monthly stipend to open their restrooms to the public.

The Initiative devotes $350,000 to identifying and reaching out to “10-15 chronically homeless adults who are hardest to reach and most likely to cause problematic street behavior,” providing them housing and on-going support services, citing success with similar programs in San Francisco, Seattle, and Philadelphia. Additionally, $100,000 is allocated to measures to prevent “transition age youth” from becoming chronically homeless. Although the specific measures are not yet determined, the Initiative recommends vocational training and GED classes. The Initiative also prohibits lying on public sidewalks during daylight hours and amends the city code so that police officers may enforce the provision of their own initiative after issuing a single warning, whereas previously two such warnings were required, and without a resident complaint. Recognizing the shortage of shelter beds, enforcement is a low priority from 10pm to 6am.

Last, the Initiative institutes a public smoking ban in certain commercial areas and in waiting areas in front of ATM machines, ticket lines, and cab stands, and in all “recreational areas,” such as parks, hiking trails, and bike paths. The ban affects much of Shattuck and Telegraph avenues, and along Bankcroft Way.

In addition to these measures, the Initiative proposes the future consideration of a Community Court, “an innovative, non-traditional, problem-solving court that combines criminal justice and social service agencies under one roof for a comprehensive response to ‘quality-of-life’ crimes.” The Court would emphasize expedited hearings, with on-site social services staff screening the accused before hearings. The court would dole out community service in lieu of jail time for low-level crimes such as public intoxication or public urination, and would attempt to address the underlying social issues facing defendants in an effort to get to the root of the problem.


The Public Commons for Everyone Initiative, available at http://www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/ContentDisplay.aspx?id=5122