City of Alexandria, Virginia
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MEMORANDUM
DATE: OCTOBER 3, 2023
TO: THE HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF CITY COUNCIL
THROUGH: JAMES F. PARAJON, CITY MANAGER /s/
FROM: JOANNA ANDERSON, CITY ATTORNEY
DOCKET TITLE:
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Introduction and First Reading. Consideration of Passage of an Ordinance to remove Section 31 (PANHANDLING) of Chapter 1 (GENERAL OFFENSES) of Title 13 (MISCELLANEOUS OFFENSES).
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ISSUE: Should City Council repeal the City of Alexandria's specified prohibitions on panhandling from the City Code to align with evolving First Amendment law?
RECOMMENDATION: That City Council repeal the City's specified prohibitions on panhandling on first reading and schedule it for second reading, public hearing and final passage on Saturday, October 14, 2023.
BACKGROUND: While panhandling is largely permissible in the City of Alexandria, the Alexandria City Code currently specifies instances when panhandling is prohibited. Evolving Constitutional law has established that panhandling constitutes protected expression under the First Amendment. See Clatterbuck v. City of Charlottesville, 708 F.3d 549 (4th Cir. 2013). With limited exceptions, the government can only regulate one form of protected expression differently from other forms of expression if the regulation is narrowly tailored to further a compelling governmental interest. Reed v. Town of Gilbert, 576 U.S. 155 (2015).
The City of Alexandria places certain restrictions on panhandling that are not incorporated into regulations of other similar forms of expression, such as charitable solicitations. Compare Code ?? 13-1-41 (panhandling regulations) with 9-10-1 - 9-10-9 (charitable solicitation regulations). For instance, it is a misdemeanor for individuals to panhandle within 15 feet of an automatic teller machine ("ATM"), id. ? 13-1-41(b)(4), but there are no similar restrictions regarding solicitations. U...
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