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June 26, 2004 - Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Valley&State Backpage O&E Sports Archives Classifieds Faith&Beliefs Obituaries Revels May 15, 2004 City: No pubic in public By Bill Choy Ashland Daily Tidings Those who plan to parade sans clothing in downtown this summer may want to have second thoughts. If a city ordinance initiated by Ashland Police Chief Mike Bianca is approved by the city council, it will be unlawful for any person to expose his or her genitalia while in a public place or place visible from a public place. The council will be presented with the proposal at its Tuesday night meeting. Bianca decided to pursue the ordinance after more than 16 incidents of public nudity in the Downtown Plaza and in front of Lithia Park last summer. "I want to lessen these conflicts," Bianca said. "This sets some clear boundaries of behavior for a small number of people who can't figure it out for themselves. ... We have an enormous investment in our town, and I'm not talking about buildings or money. I'm talking about civility and good taste, and they are worth protecting." In January, Bianca asked Assistant City Attorney Mike Franell "to create a simple ordinance over public nudity that could pass constitutional challenges." Franell said the proposed ordinance applies only to the showing of genitalia and not the buttocks, or women going topless. The ordinance is not intended to apply to a person who is prepubescent or those who have taken steps to create an envelope of privacy upon their own property for nudity to occur. "The intent is not to prevent anyone from doing this in their own homes," City Manager Gino Grimaldi said. "We're trying to prevent anything offensive, especially in downtown." There is no state or current city law that bans public nudity if people are not being disorderly, intoxicated, delusional or violent. If the ordinance passes, violators could be fined up $250 in Ashland Municipal Court. Grimaldi said the ordinance is designed as a deterrent to make people think twice about parading in their birthday suits in downtown. "It's really a tool we would use when an officer approaches someone to cover up," he said. "Hopefully they will oblige and we don't have to cite them." Bianca said he respects people's rights, but not when it becomes a distraction to others. "We are surrounded by 10,000-acres where people can go and get naked," he said. "For the life of me, I can't figure out why they have to pick 10-acres of downtown and the front of Lithia Park." DailyTidings.com Home Page Valley&State | Backpage | O&E | Sports | Archives | Weather | Classifieds Columnists | Faith&Beliefs | Obituaries | Revels | Subscribe | Contact Us Copyright 2004 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers All Rights Reserved Click Here Site Search: .:Advertisements:. RESOURCES - Mail Tribune News - ODOT Road Cams