KALAMAZOO, Mich. — Changes to a West Michigan city's ordinances have business owners sounding the alarm, saying these will ultimately impact them and the people who visit the downtown area.
Things like public urination, defecation, and littering are now decriminalized from a misdemeanor to a civil infraction.
"That’s not right, and that’s not good, so I am very concerned and I’m very disappointed, and I feel like the support for the businesses and the business owners is lacking," said Lana's Boutique Owner Lana Hoffman.
Hoffman's boutique is located in downtown Kalamazoo, and she said she is frustrated after the Kalamazoo City Commission made changes to its code of ordinances on Monday night.
"The most concerning thing is some of the ordinances that were changed involve safety. That includes safety of customers, safety of employees, safety of anyone coming downtown," said Hoffman.
Many of these changes go from misdemeanor crimes to civil infractions, including public urination, defecation and littering.
"I’m incredibly disappointed. I feel like a lot of these things were passed that weren’t even mentioned in the meeting. They’re major concerns and concerns not just for downtown and the city in general," said Hoffman.
"We’re not rolling out the welcome mat for crime in the city of Kalamazoo. We're not rolling out the red carpet. We still want there to be accountability and guardrails, and it is still against the law for as many of those things on there to do those actions," said City of Kalamazoo City Commissioner Chris Praedel.
Praedel said the point was to match many of these crimes to the punishment and take out duplicate laws.
He said they want to be fair and equitable to who these laws were most affecting, the unhoused population, as well as provide a better solution for those trying to get on their feet.
Praedal also added they wanted to ensure public safety resources were spent on crime actually impacting the city.
"I definitely empathize with the downtown business owners too. They have invested a lot to be in downtown, and a lot of those spots are mom and pop shops where that is their life income. We want to be respectful of that. We hear them. We are listening to them, and we care a lot, but we care about everybody in the community," said Praedel.
Other changes were made to Kalamazoo's code as well.
Some sections were removed entirely because they were no longer enforced or unconstitutional, according to the city.
An important note, some of the sections removed can still be prosecuted under state law, if warranted.
To read the City of Kalamazoo's legislation, you can click here for a full list.
