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Town looks to curb lingering on Davie Rd.

Posted on October 25, 2007October 25, 2007 by Staff

By Kirk Ross
Staff Writer

A new anti-lingering ordinance aimed to prevent the corner of Davie and Jones Ferry roads from continuing as a hangout moved a little farther toward passage Tuesday night after a public hearing at Town Hall.

The area has been a longtime gathering place in the morning for day laborers and contractors seeking workers, but in recent years has also attracted groups of men who use the site for drinking and hanging out. At the board’s last discussion on the matter, aldermen said they had heard a steady stream of complaints about loitering, drinking, public urination and crude and offensive comments to female passers-by.

An ordinance drafted by Town Attorney Michael Brough would apply only to a roughly 400-foot section right-of-way along the north side of Jones Ferry Road and a 200-foot section along Davie Road. It bans lingering in the area between the hours of 11 a.m. and 5 a.m. — leaving a window during the hours that day laborers use the area.

The ordinance would make it illegal to “stand, sit, linger, or otherwise remain” in the area. Brough has said that unlike loitering ordinances, which have faced legal challenges, the language in the anti-lingering ordinance is much more specific and addresses a specific concern.

The initial reaction of the American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina, though, has not been positive.

In a letter to Brough dated Oct. 22 ACLU lawyers said that while they recognize the town’s effort to keep the ordinance narrowly defined, it may “impermissibly burden intrastate travel” and “appears too vague to be constitutionally enforceable” and suggest redrafting the ordinance.

At Tuesday’s meeting, residents urged the board of aldermen to adopt the measure and use it to crack down on some of the behaviors that occur there.

Davie Road resident John Neville said he was concerned that the new rule would only be a “band aid” and asked that the town consider moving the day-labor location. Neville and others said increased police presence and efforts by the town’s public works to clean up the area have helped. One reason for the new ordinance was to help police, who have received an increasing number of calls about behavior on the corner.

Carrboro Police Chief Carolyn Hutchison said she’s also had a good response from the management of the Kangaroo Express convenience store across the street from the day-labor site. Board members asked that the management be contacted to make sure they understood the area’s concern and were in compliance with ABC rules.

The board of aldermen is scheduled to take up the ordinance again on November 20.

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