Secured Handbill Ordinance

Pittsburgh City Council is reconsidering an ordinance that would enforce handbills such as advertisements be secured in doors or placed on stoops, rather than thrown into yards. The alteration would also include private properties. City Councilors Theresa Smith and Patrick Dowd voted no on the amended bill.

City Council President Doug Shields says the bill is reasonable.

“[The advertisers] certainly don’t want to offend the customer by creating a nuisance. I don’t see where these places any undo burden on anybody,” he says.

However, while Smith says the intent is good, she refuses to vote on it because the ad distributor Pittsburgh Mailing will be in her district.

“I’m not going to do something against a business that’s moving into my district that will employ people all across the city of Pittsburgh,” she says.