North Carolina tourist town weighing options to crack down on growing panhandling as tourism dips
Tourism in Asheville, North Carolina, is reportedly down 11% compared to recent years
(FOX) –
A city in North Carolina is reportedly taking steps to crack down on panhandling amid public concern in the mountain town that relies heavily on tourism.
The Asheville City Council Safety Committee, which is a subcommittee of the city council, has been weighing options to reduce the growing rate of panhandling by tweaking current laws and better enforcing the ones already on the books, according to local outlet WLOS.
Officials in the city of approximately 90,000 people in the Blue Ridge Mountains are reportedly considering updating a city ordinance to ban panhandling at outdoor dining areas, as well as potentially expanding the current six-foot distance ban to 10 feet, the local outlet reported.
“We haven’t updated this ordinance in 20 years,” Asheville City Councilwoman Maggie Ullman, who chairs the subcommittee, said during a meeting on Tuesday, according to WLOS.
“And we need as a community to discuss what we think about…