Elyria will vote on repeal of 1945 law banning 'games in the street'

A disagreement between neighbors came to the floor of Elyria City Council Chambers on Wednesday, as city officials and residents debated the merits of an 80-year-old law banning the playing of games in the street. City Council will vote on whether to appeal the law at a future meeting, after the Utilities, Safety and Environment Committee moved the proposal to do so forward on Wednesday. Elyria Codified Ordinance 311.06, passed in 1945, bans people of any age from playing "games in the street" on any city street. The old law received new life when residents on Briar Lake Drive began to argue over whether the children of residents and their friends should be allowed to play in the streets. The issue was discussed during the Utilities meeting on Wednesday, after Councilman Kenny Oswald, D-4th Ward, referred a motion to repeal or amend the ordinance along with Jason and Jessica Bendick, two of the parents who wanted their kids able to play. Oswald said that after speaking with both sides of the argument, which is happening in his ward, he was at a loss for what to do, so he wanted to bring the issue before the committee. "I started doing some research and getting peoples' views on the street," Oswald said. "... The people that I've talked to – young, old – that have kids, yes they love having the kids there. But the ones that don't have kids don't think that cul-de-sac should be a playground for their area. So they feel their rights are being taken advantage of." Law Director Amanda Deery said that neither her office nor the Elyria Police Department had any opposition to repealing or amending the law, saying that it was outdated and had a punishment structure that was ineffectual. "Legally, we are not in opposition to repealing or amending this ordinance," she said. "I would recommend to the Utilities Committee that something needs to be done about the language of this ordinance because, quite frankly, it is not productive or usable as is." The ordinance ties penalties for violations to standard traffic violations, so there is no mechanism to enforce it against anyone under the age of 16. Committee Chairwoman Donna Mitchell, D-6th Ward, asked one representative from each side of the argument to speak for two minutes on their view. Jason Bendick, who is the principal of Open Door Christian Schools, went first. "It's 80 years old, (passed) in 1945, it is obviously a different time," Bendick said. "And while it may have been well intended initially, we all know that it is now outdated, it is a punitive use of traffic control and it is overly broad. When applied to modern residential designs like cul-de-sacs, it criminalizes safe and supervised play." Bendick also said that his children and others had been subjected to harassment, insults and being videotaped by some neighbors. He argued the complaints didn't come from a real concern for safety, but out of an "unfortunate personal grievance." "For this to be enacted and cited toward my children, they would have to do the same thing for the 151 cul-de-sacs in this city," he said. "'...Our time and resources will be utilized much better with our officers not coming at children who are playing in the street." Neighbor James McGlamery, former Wellington schools superintendent, spoke in opposition to repealing the law. He said there was a real safety concern due to the number of children he has seen in the street. "With 12 or more children at times playing in the streets, even after dark, it is not safe," McGlamery said. "They are running in the street, they are riding bicycles around in the area (and) they are playing ball." McGlamery also argued that there were plenty of other places for the kids to play which would be safer and less disruptive. "The children are sometimes loud, as children will be, and they are disruptive to me and others in the neighborhood," he said. "The city of Elyria has a number of very fine parks that are available to the children and the adults." Once both sides had made their argument, Mitchell told them that regardless of what Council decided to do, the neighborhood was dealing with personal issues which had to be handled as such. "I want to reiterate again that this committee is here tonight for the purpose of discussion of the ordinance," she said. "Unfortunately, what you all have going on, you have got to figure out a way to make it work. And it's unfortunate because you are neighbors and you should be able to figure out a way to get along. Kids will be kids, and they deserve to play, but not at the right of disturbing their neighbors. Be respectful." Councilman Brad Armstrong, I-5th Ward, said that, like Oswald, he had spoken to people on both sides of the issue and found making a decision hard, but that he was especially bothered by any harassment or bothering of children. He also agreed with Mitchell, telling the residents they needed to find a way to live together. Resident John Tara asked to speak in opposition to repealing the ordinance, saying that the neighbors against the kids in the street had tried to come to a compromise, but there were simply too many kids who would come to their street. "A principal of a Christian school has, for the last year, decided to override the laws for his own family and thought that was more than OK," Tara said."... If you are going to break laws, you are breaking laws, so do I get to pick and choose now? If I want to drink in the middle of the cul-de-sac can I do that? Come on. Enough's enough." Tara's comments drew murmurs from the crowd of parents, many of whom had brought their kids, attending the meeting. "To be clear, this is an antiquated law. It has no teeth," Deery said. "There is no adequate reasonable penalty to this law as it stands now, so I would implore the committee to come up with something, regardless of what that something is, because right now there are words on the page, and there is no penalty that is adequate." She said that any related issues to the ordinance, such as noise, property damage or blocking traffic, were adequately covered by other state and local laws already in place. "The issues that you all have are, unfortunately, your issues. The city can't do anything about what you are going through," Mitchell said. "... "What I would implore you all (the neighbors) to do is sit down, work together and try to figure out a compromise because you know that, this ain't that serious." Another representative for the proponent tried to speak, but Mitchell told him that the committee was done with the discussion and the issue needed to be addressed between neighbors. Regardless of the specific case, members of the committee agreed the law was outdated and ineffective and voted unanimously to send a new ordinance repealing the games in the streets ordinance before Council as a whole for approval. Council's next regular meeting is Sept. 2. Contact Owen MacMillan at (440) 329-7123 or omacmillan@chroniclet.com.