Manitou Springs residents voiced their concerns Tuesday, June 7, during a City Council regular meeting regarding a proposed ordinance addressing the city’s stance about street performers.
After hearing those concerns, City Council voted 5-2 against passing a second reading on an ordinance “repealing and reenacting … Manitou Springs Municipal Code concerning sitting, lying and street performing.”
Mayor Pro Tem John Shada, Councilors Julie Wolfe, Natalie Johnson, Judith Chandler and Michelle Whetherhult dissented. Mayor John Graham and Nancy Fortuin voted in favor.
The vote effectively defeated the new ordinance, but didn’t end the debate.
“We leave the police in an unfortunate situation,” Graham said. “We can’t tell the police not to enforce the [current] law, but we can suggest or indicate that’s not our highest priority.”
The proposed ordinance said:
“The City determines that it is necessary and appropriate to create designated areas for the activities of street performers in the downtown area, and to regulate sitting, lying, or blocking the public right-of-way in the downtown area.”
The new ordinance further explained what would be designated locations, displays, downtown area, public rights-of-way, specified time frames, street performers, exceptions and prohibited acts.
Council had a first reading of the new ordinance on May 17 during a regular session where members voted 6-1 to approve it, Wolfe being the lone dissenter.
During Tuesday’s session, which lasted nearly three and a half hours, more than half of the meeting was dedicated to address the sit-lie law.
Sixteen Manitou residents spoke to City Council stating their issues and provided their viewpoints on the importance of not stifling street performers with the law, especially portions limiting where street performers can operate.
“…You keep saying over and over that this is to make as many people as happy as you can, but you’re not going to make everyone happy,” said Manitou resident Ric Hudson. “I know (police) chief (Bill Otto) is happy. Alex (Trefry, Manitou public information officer) is happy. Whoever votes to let this go through is happy.
“But the citizens aren’t happy, the tourists are not happy. … That is a strong statement that you all are trying to make yourselves happy and you don’t care about the citizens, the tourists or the buskers.”
Presence Mercier said she has lived in Manitou since 2014 and “moved here specifically for the music.”
Mercier explained how music and musicians helped her son, who Mercier said was born with sensory processing disorder, which “affects how the brain processes sensory information,” according to familydoctor.org.
“My son used to suck his fingers, rock back and forth and step on his toes,” Mercier said. “My son now goes out in the community. He talks to people. These people have helped my child personally. So, while y’all might just see hippies playing music, this is my village.
“They say it takes a village to raise a child. Well, thank you to those who have helped my son blossom into the young man that he is today. … The slogan of this town is ‘Keep Manitou weird.’ Why are you trying to take away from that? If you don’t want to be weird, move to [Colorado] Springs.”
After fielding more than a dozen opinions from the audience, multiple councilors said they were “conflicted” about the ordinance, but Fortuin said police officers needed direction.
“I think it’s unfair to the police to not have a regulation,” Fortuin said. “The police need something to protect our public right-of-way.
“Although I’m a street performer, I also get frustrated when I’m trying to get down the sidewalk and the sidewalk is blocked. … I support Councilor Chandler’s recommendation to have a continued evaluation of this. But I would like to see it implemented tonight and then folks continue to gather and assess it, and let’s see how it goes.”
Graham called the situation “odd and quirky” and added that everyone had the same idea, but a different approach.
“I think we all want something that’s pretty similar,” Graham said. “We may have slightly different flavors, but we all want ice cream. … We’re in the summer and I don’t really want to kick this can down the road. I’d want to adopt this ordinance tonight with the idea that we’ll work together and get the bugs out.”
Shada proposed that council “bring back for a first and second reading the removal of chapter 9.46 from the Manitou Springs city code.” Council agreed to do so and will have the item on a future agenda.
Changes are still possible, Shada said, “if we want to modify it or add things or gut it.”