Auburn Police Chief Jim Kelly told the Planning and Community Development Committee Monday that there are more than two dozen aggressive panhandlers regularly at work in Auburn.

They are most noticeable on the off ramps from State Route 167 at 15th Streets northwest and southwest, at Highway 18 and Auburn Way South, and at 15th Street and Auburn Way North.

And when they wander into traffic, they make dangerous nuisances of themselves.

“It creates a problem when the beggar steps out onto the road, especially on a green light with traffic proceeding, and the vehicles have to stop,” Kelly said.

Kelly’s answer takes the form of a few changes to the city’s aggressive begging ordinance that would give his officers an additional tool to enforce the rules against the practice at intersections that are controlled by traffic control signals.

The proposed amendment would make it illegal to engage in any begging activity that:

• Causes or is likely to cause the person begging or the person being contacted to enter a roadway lane of traffic on foot, other than in a marked crosswalk

• Occurs at an intersection controlled by lighted traffic signals, where that activity is between or involves persons located on a sidewalk or along a public roadway and persons in or on a vehicle traveling on a public roadway

• Causes or is likely to cause vehicles to stop at locations or times where or when disruptive to, or not consistent with, the flow of traffic.

Councilman Rich Wagner wondered whether officers would have wide latitude not to make an arrest given the new rules.

“What will be your instructions to them be when there are all these prescriptive reasons for arrest?” Wagner inquired.

Education first, Kelly responded.

“There some 30 panhandlers who are constantly coming into contact with officers, and in some instances we can even effect an arrest today, but we don’t,” Kelly said. “We try to encourage them to move on and do something different. Trying to gain voluntary compliance to our ordinances is always our first effort, and arrest would be the very last resort for somebody who absolutely refuses to stop their behavior or the problem.”

Recalling his own encounter that day with aggressive panhandling in the bathroom of a local restaurant, Wagner then asked whether tougher enforcement at the intersections would just move the problem along.

“I don’t know what the effects the enhanced ordinance would have other than to increase the public safety at those intersections where traffic concerns are. As far as aggressive begging in a restroom, that’s already illegal and against city ordinance,” Kelly said.

Councilwoman Nancy Backus asked whether police officers provide any information to panhandlers about resources that could help them.

Kelly said most but not all of the panhandlers that police see in the community are known to the officers and don’t want the help.

“They are aware of the resources and prefer to beg,” Kelly said.

Earlier in a meeting of the city’s Municipal Services Committee, Councilman Bill Peloza suggested adding language to the preamble to the ordinance, a “whereas” to address the problem of litter, cardboard signs, plastic bottles or other debris that panhandlers leave at intersections.