Westport: No Loitering, No cruising, Curfews or All of the Above?

By Mark Forsythe The Kansas City Post There has been a growing problem in Westport that is reaching critical mass and needs to be addressed. Most Saturday nights after midnight, the streets and sidewalks get clogged with people who have no business being in a district that only caters to those 21 and over at that hour. When I say "have no business being in a district" I mean that the majority of those in the crowd are under 21. What business do teenagers have in a district with businesses they cannot enter? Any time our city government or business leaders attempt to address this situation, the specter of racism is raised. Why? Because the majority of the late night Westport sidewalk crowds are African American. To that I say "so what?" The problem isn't crowds of underage black kids. It's crowds of underage kids, period. If there's a bunch of people gathered on a sidewalk showing no interest in letting me through I'm going to move along, regardless of the demographic of the crowd. Would I wade through a throng of early adopters waiting to buy an Iphone so I could patronize an adjoining business on the Plaza? Probably not. Would I fight my way through a crowd of preteens waiting to scream their heads off at a Hanna Montana concert so I could buy a beer at McFadden's? Hardly. Unless highly motivated, most people avoid crowds whenever possible. Wanting to buy a beer at 1AM in Westport does not make you "highly motivated." Not when there are plenty of other establishments in town that are far easier to access. I'm fairly confident that if a crowd of unicorns granting free wishes was blocking the entrance to your business you would be well within your rights to complain. "Take your wish granting somewhere else" you would say. "You're keeping out my customers!" To the business owners of Westport, it's not a race thing, it's a money thing. It must be frustrating to the small business owners in Westport who see their business decline due to underage loiterers. The fact that the sidwalks are public property mean that technically the loitering teenagers are not violating any laws. So how do we strike a balance between respecting the rights of all citizens and supporting the business owners' rights to unimpeded commerce? Many communities have adopted "no loitering" ordinances. Some have employed "no cruising" laws and others have tried curfews either city-wide or in designated zones. Some have tried combinations. Success of these laws passing constitutional muster has been mixed, but their effectiveness has been successful in the communities that have taken great care in their implementation. What I would propose for Westport would be a mix of restrictions put forth for public comment from the community stakeholders. It makes no sense to pass laws that do not have community support, so I would recommend a series of options be put forth in front of people for their input and feedback. Groups given extra weight in their feedback should be members of law enforcement familiar with the unique problems of a night club district, ACLU lawyers with experience in constitutionality of these type of ordinances, business owners who are directly affected by loitering and of course a reasonable cross-section of community leaders. This will not be easy. Any time government seeks to restrict personal liberties is cause for concern but in this case I'm confident that the right balance can be attained. Communities with successful ordinances have done so by following the path of public buy-in instead of unilaterally adopting restrictive ordinances. It's unfortunate that this situation has come to a point where we have to consider legislation, and I certainly don't support our government becoming a "nanny" dictating personal behavior, but the rights of business owners must be weighed against the rights of bored teens with no place to go. In this case, I think that government is responsible for providing an environment that promotes thriving commerce, not providing entertainment for bored teens.