Anchorage Mayor Proposes Limiting Downtown Sidewalk Sitting

At next week’s Anchorage Assembly meeting, Mayor Dan Sullivan will present an ordinance restricting sitting or lying on downtown sidewalks.   The mayor’s proposal coincides with a homeless man’s month long protest on the sidewalk in front of city hall or across the street.  Since June, John Martin III has protested the municipality’s new policy of seizing and destroying the property of the city’s illegal campers after a 15 day notice or seizing and storing it after a three day warning.  Martin manned his sidewalk stance during the day and occasionally through the night.  He also requested a meeting with the mayor.

At a Wednesday press conference Mayor Sullivan said he had no intention of meeting with Martin. Martin is on the state’s sex offender registry for a 1997, level one sexual abuse of a minor conviction.   He listed his address as simply, “homeless… generally stays in Campbell Creek area.” Also on Wednesday, Anchorage police arrested Martin for failure to register his address.  He posted bail and returned to the sidewalk.

The mayor says his ordinance is not specifically against Martin.

Links to next Tuesday’s Anchorage Assembly meeting agenda relating to the mayor’s sidewalk sitting or lying ordiance:

• http://publicdocs.muni.org/sirepub/cache/2/mc1wwundpb3ooma151ptq3al/29513207222011070010941.PDF
• http://publicdocs.muni.org/sirepub/cache/2/mc1wwundpb3ooma151ptq3al/29513407222011065812238.PDF

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