SHOULD COSTA MESA ENACT A DAY WORKER CATCH 22 AS ORANGE IS PLANNING?
According to the OC POST, the City of Orange is about to enact new city ordinances to protect the public and day workers themselves from dangerous solicitation activities. LINK
Here's a quick comparison of what Orange is proposing and what Costa Mesa currently has on the books.
The main elements of the proposed ordinances in Orange ban solicitation...
1. From sidewalks next to streets without parking lanes. (Costa Mesa's ordinance doesn't have this but does ban solicitation of traveling vehicles.)
2. While a solicitor is stopped or standing in a traffic lane, median or driveway apron on a public right of way. (Costa Mesa's ordinance has better language than this.)
3. From private property without the owner's written permission. (Costa Mesa's ordinance doesn't have this provision.
In Costa Mesa, if an owner doesn't want day workers congregating on his or her property, he or she has to post a city approved sign and then send a letter to the police chief telling him of the sign. Few owners want to do this.
In other words, with Orange's proposed ordinance, a day worker can't solicit work on the property without a written permission slip from the owner, but in Costa Mesa, a day worker can solicit work on the property so long as the owner hasn't put up the correct sign and notified the CMPD of the sign.)
NUMBER 3, ABOVE, IS ORANGE'S CATCH 22 FOR DAY WORKERS AND FOR THEIR ENABLERS--IT'S IN THE SMALL PRINT
Here's why. Say you're a private property owner where day workers congregate--maybe you own a convenience store or a paint store--and you want to let day workers congregate on your property.
No problemo, right? All you have to do is give the day workers a permission slip to solicit work from your property.
Ooops. You just stepped in it.
Under Orange's proposed ordinances, if you give a written note to day workers saying they can congregate on your property (again, think a convenience market or paint store), you will be considered to be running a job center and you will need a conditional-use permit from the Planning Commission in order to run your job center in your parking lot.
Private property owners who violate this provision will be fined up to $250 for the first offense, $500 for the second and $1,000 and possible jail time for the third.
Suppose you do manage to get such a CUP for your new job center in your parking lot. What then?
Well, you'll have to comply with various workplace rules and supply bathrooms, etc. to the day workers. And, are you ready to check ID's to make sure all the day workers you are helping find work are in the country legally? What about your insurance company? Will they raise your rates because of your job center? And, it goes on and on.
Under Orange's proposed ordinances, you might just decide you don't want to let day workers congregate in your parking lot.
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Those are our opinions. Thanks for reading them.
