ASHLAND, Ore. (AP) — The Ashland City Council has decided against adopting a downtown exclusion zone that would have banned people who commit multiple crimes.
Councilors also appointed a task force to consider ways to deal with the homeless and concerns about panhandling.
City Councilor Greg Lemhouse said he didn’t want the task force to have to deal with controversy over the exclusion zone, a proposal he said would do more harm than good.
The Ashland Daily Tidings reported that dozens of people marched to protest an exclusion zone before the City Council rejected the proposal at its meeting Tuesday night.
The proposal would have included bans on people who committed violations such as drinking alcohol in public or making unnecessary noise.
