Starting in 30 days, loitering outside the City-County Building in downtown Madison will now be illegal.
The City County liaison committee approved changes to City-County Building(CCB) rules that amended the facility’s loitering rules last night. After over three hours of testimony, most of it against the new rules, the changes were passed by a 7-1 vote.
On Oct. 1, signs will be posted and the new rule will be in effect that will include ticketing individuals who are on the grounds of the City-County Building during non-office hours. Those tickets will come with $400 fines.
Loitering is currently prohibited after-hours inside the CCB. The proposed rule change on the committee’s agenda also banned after-hours loitering outside of the building. The proposal was raised in response to complaints of behaviors like public urination, drug abuse, violence and public sex on the building’s porch.
Critics say that it is targeting the homeless population who sleep there because it’s a lit space and relatively safe.
