Raleigh city councilors approved a new set of rules for panhandling this week. The new rules will guide where people can ask for money, and allows panhandling only between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m.<\/p>\n
The city already required panhandlers to get an annual permit, but violating the new rules will be a misdemeanor. If the person has a permit, they will loose it, and could face a $500 fine.<\/p>\n
The changes will go into effect on March 18.<\/p>\n
Here are the new rules:<\/p>\n
No begging or panhandling is allowed in school zones \u201cwhile students are beginning or ending the school day.\u201d Furthermore, begging or panhandling is not allowed in the following areas:<\/p>\n
Within 20 feet of any bus stop, train station or taxi zone;<\/p>\n
Within 100 feet of any automated teller machine or any other machine that dispenses money to the general public;<\/p>\n
Within 100 feet of the entrance to any financial institution open for business;<\/p>\n
Within 20 feet of any commercial establishment open for business;<\/p>\n
Within 20 feet of any duly permitted outdoor dining area during hours of operation; and,<\/p>\n
Within 20 feet of the entrance to any residence or residential building.<\/p>\n
Also under the new ordinance, no one is allowed to beg or panhandle in the following manner:<\/p>\n
While under the influence of alcohol, illegal drugs or prescription medication unless the prescription medicine is prescribed by a licensed physician;<\/p>\n
By coming within 3 feet of the person being approached unless that person has clearly indicated a desire to make a donation;<\/p>\n
By blocking the path of any person along a sidewalk or street;<\/p>\n
By following the person who has been asked for a donation after that person has either declined the request or walked away;<\/p>\n
By using profane or abusive language during the request for a donation or after a donation has been refused;<\/p>\n
In a group of three or more;<\/p>\n
By using any statement, gesture or any other form of communication which a reasonable person would perceive as a threat;<\/p>\n
By using false or misleading information, such as stating the donation is for a specific need that does not exist, has already been met, or the requestor already has the funds to meet the need; and,<\/p>\n
By falsely indicating the requestor suffers from a physical or mental disability.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Raleigh city councilors approved a new set of rules for panhandling this week. The new rules will guide where people can ask for money, and allows panhandling only between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24002,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[4,15],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5307"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24002"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5307"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5307\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5307"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5307"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5307"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}