After a month of bitter debate over whether to regulate feeding Houston’s homeless, a divided Council passed a ban on serving charitable meals anywhere property owners have not granted permission to do so. The vote was 11-6.

Civil libertarians and volunteers immediately announced plans to launch a petition drive to have the ordinance overturned on the November election ballot. Long-time civil rights attorney Randall Kallinen said he also plans to seek a temporary restraining order from a federal court to prevent the ordinance from going into effect on July 1.

Mayor Annise Parker and council members Jerry Davis, Ellen Cohen, Wanda Adams, Ed Gonzalez, James Rodriguez, Mike Laster, Larry Green, Stephen Costello, Andrew Burks and Melissa Noriega voted in favor of the ordinance. Council members Helena Brown, Mike Sullivan, Al Hoang, Oliver Pennington, C.O. Bradford and Jack Christie voted against it.

In three appearances on the Council agenda in the past month, the proposed ordinance drew large crowds of public speakers, most of whom opposed the measure. It also provoked sharp debate on the dais.

“The ordinance in its whole, definitely in my view, infringes upon civil rights — freedom of expression and of religion,” Bradford said.

The ordinance requires that anyone who wants to feed five or more homeless people get written permission from the property owner. That includes public land such as city parks. The ordinance gives the city parks director authority to decide which ones will be legal feeding venues.

Rodriguez, whose District I includes downtown, said the intent of the ordinance is to “treat our homeless with dignity, to be more efficient and to protect public property.”

A voluntary provision in the ordinance would have charitable groups register with the city. Those registering would agree to food preparation safety rules. The city intends to use the registration information to coordinate scheduling so that the charities avoid duplication and waste. Registration had been mandatory in an earlier version of the plan, but was trimmed back following the outcry that charged the plan amounted to a criminalization of charity. The Parker administration also reduced the penalties for violations from the original $2,000 down to $500 in what passed Wednesday.

“We’re not saying you can’t feed them, but let’s just work together to help clean up the trash,” Rodriguez said.

Christie said complaints of litter and property rights’ infringements were not so widespread that an ordinance was required to address them.

“You’re burning down the barn to get rid of the rats,” he said.