STONE HARBOR – Stone Harbor Council, July 18, repealed portions of the municipal code dealing with loitering as an offense.
The action was taken “to avoid the possibility that the borough would be enforcing an unconstitutional ordinance.”
The action by the borough represents the latest such action by New Jersey localities that are slowly coming into compliance with a New Jersey Supreme Court ruling from 1982, which declared loitering ordinances unconstitutional.
Prior to the vote, the council heard from John Paff, of the New Jersey Libertarian Party, whose ordinance repeal project has, he asserted, led to loitering ordinance repeals in over 40 municipalities.
The American Civil Liberties Union has also been active in denouncing the continued existence of loitering ordinances even though they are preempted by state law.
Concerns with these loitering ordinances are that they have a history of being used as a basis for harassment and discriminatory enforcement. The attempts by the ordinances to regulate street behavior have also been opposed as a violation of First Amendment rights.
