AUSTIN (Talk1370.com) -- The political action group behind a voter-approved effort to reinstate Austin's ban on public camping, along with four small business owners, has filed a lawsuit against the City of Austin over what the group alleges is the city's failure to properly enforce Proposition B.
The business owners involved include Laura North, owner of Headspace Salon and Co-op; Stuart Dupuy, owner of Balance Dance Studios; Robert Mayfield, owner of Dairy Queen franchises; and Bob Woody, owner of Buckshot Bar on East 6th Street.
“We have been immensely patient with the City of Austin on full enforcement of Prop B," Save Austin Now co-founder Matt Mackowiak said in a statement. "Their four phase, 90 day enforcement plan entered the final phase on August 8 and it is undeniable that Prop B is not being fully enforced. The city is choosing not to respect the will of the voters, when nearly 91,000 of them clearly expressed their desire to see the city reinstate the public camping ban and advance actual, effective solutions for our homeless."
Voters approved Proposition B on May 1 by a 58-42 margin, which called on the city to reinstate the ban on public camping, along with reinstating a sit-lie ordinance in the downtown and University of Texas campus area, and banning aggressive panhandling.
"The HEAL initiative has only helped around 100 people, while at least 2,000 await any workable plan from the city after more than two years and at least $161 million spent," Mackowiak's statement continued. "Austin business owners, families, children, commuters, and visitors remain threatened by this failed policy. Unregulated public camping has been illegal in Austin since Prop B passed. It is time for the City of Austin to respect the will of the voters and put public safety first. We will take this fight as far as it needs to go to make our city safe again – for both the residents and the homeless."