It could soon be illegal to sit or lie on public sidewalks anywhere in San Francisco, a law Mayor Gavin Newsom says would make city life safer for pedestrians and merchants, but that homeless advocates and others say would amount to profiling against the poor.

Newsom will introduce two separate versions of a sit/lie law today at the Board of Supervisors. One version would prohibit sitting or lying on public sidewalks in about 20 commercial corridors throughout the city and is modeled on a similar law in Seattle that was upheld as constitutional by the U.S. Court of Appeals.

The other would prevent the behavior everywhere, including in residential neighborhoods, and is believed to be a first nationwide.

"He's not wedded to any particular approach," said the mayor's spokesman, Tony Winnicker. "Obviously, we do want one to pass the board, and we're introducing them with the hope and expectation the board will pass a meaningful sit/lie ordinance."

Police Chief George Gascón has been pushing for a sit/lie ordinance in the Haight after learning of bands of thugs blocking sidewalks and bullying merchants, pedestrians and neighborhood residents.

Newsom, who bought a home in the Haight recently, was convinced to support an ordinance after walking along Haight Street with his infant daughter and seeing someone smoking crack and blocking the entrance of a business.

But many say the mayor's sudden conversion to the idea has gone too far. Public Defender Jeff Adachi said his office probably would challenge the constitutionality of the ordinance in court.

During a heated, five-hour Board of Supervisors public safety committee hearing on the issue Monday, Adachi showed photographs of behavior that would be illegal under Newsom's proposed law: a well-heeled tourist sitting on her luggage as she waits for a cab, a little boy sitting on a sidewalk clutching his skateboard, and tourists sitting on a curb and gazing up at the sights.

Common sense included

Assistant Police Chief Kevin Cashman said all of those people would be warned first to move and that none of them would probably receive a citation.

"Obviously common sense is going to be part of the training with enforcement of this statute," he said at the hearing. That prompted homeless advocates to say that was their point: that only certain people would be subject to the law.

Cashman countered that many "open-minded, forward-thinking cities" have sit/lie ordinances including Seattle, Santa Cruz and Austin, Texas.

"The goal is not to arrest people - the goal is to change behavior," he said.

Both versions of Newsom's legislation were being finished by the city attorney's office Monday, and neither that office nor the mayor's office would release drafts.

According to a draft obtained by Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi late last week, the legislation would restrict sitting or lying on public sidewalks between 7 a.m. and 11 p.m. and require that a first-time violator be warned by a police officer before receiving a citation with a $50 to $100 fine.

The second violation would be considered a misdemeanor and come with 10 days in jail or a fine of $300 to $500, or both. Each subsequent violation would be subject to up to a $500 fine and 30 days in jail.

Other restrictions

According to last week's draft, the legislation also would restrict someone from placing or leaving an object on a sidewalk "unless the object is in hand or within two feet of the person's nearest foot."

It would also require that people who are stationary keep their animals on a leash and ensure their animals are not "more than two feet from the person as measured laterally from the animal's neck to the person's nearest knee."

The legislation related to business corridors would affect about 20 busy areas ranging from 24th Street in Noe Valley to Broadway in North Beach to Castro Street.

Exceptions would be made for people sitting in wheelchairs, sitting or lying down because of a medical emergency, patronizing a business with a permit to operate on the sidewalk, sitting on a bench or attending a parade, festival or demonstration.

Winnicker cautioned that any of those details could change before the mayor submits the legislation at today's Board of Supervisors meeting.