Day laborers have found loopholes in Orange
Published: Feb. 24, 2012 Updated: 4:10 p.m.
Day laborers have found loopholes in Orange
The City Council might attempt to close loophole in law.
By EUGENE W. FIELDS / THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
ORANGE – City laws that heavily restrict day laborers from congregating and soliciting jobs are working – but the workers have found legal holes.
The City Council will discuss how to plug them at Tuesday's City Council meeting.
Under city laws, day laborers cannot solicit from:
•Sidewalks on streets without parking
•People driving
•Private property without the owner's approval
•Traffic lanes and medians
The fine is $250 for the first offense, $500 for the second, and $1,000 and up to three months in jail for the third.
City Attorney David DeBerry said he saw few suspected day laborers at Chapman and Hewes avenues on a recent day. That intersection had been a hotspot for day laborers. Before the laws went into effect in 2008, there would routinely be about 70.
Citywide, there were 101 people prosecuted for violating the ordinances in 2011, down from 140 in 2009, DeBerry said.
"It's working at Chapman and Hewes," he said. "On the public-safety side, the law is meant to ensure traffic didn't stop and make sure day laborers are not soliciting on private property."
DeBerry said he has received several calls and emails from residents complaining about day laborers congregating near Taft Avenue and Tustin Street. They are on sidewalks with on-street parking, making them legal. DeBerry toured the area recently and said he saw 25 suspected day laborers.
"Since they are soliciting in an area where there's on-street parking, they are not violating the city's ordinance," DeBerry said. "That now is the only area where we have received complaints."
Deberry said many of the complaints were about women and children feeling harassed when walking through large groups of men, as well as reports of public urination.
Mayor Carolyn Cavecche declined to detail any specific plans she or other council members might have.
"We need to make sure we can go forward," she said. "But whatever we do has to have a solid legal basis."
The City Council meeting is set for 7 p.m. on Tuesday in the Council Chambers, at 300 E. Chapman Ave.
Contact the writer: 714-704-3704 or efields@ocregister.com
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