After grappling with concerns about constitutional rights and drawing a distinction between "behaviors" and "type of individuals," Burlington's city council voted unanimously Monday night to initiate what a Church Street Marketplace official describes as "a timeout for adults."

The new ordinance empowers police to issue a citation exiling an individual from the Marketplace. It specifies that a no-trespass notice can be handed out only to a person engaged in illegal actions such as disorderly conduct, property damage, public consumption of alcohol or possession of banned drugs. A first offense would result in banishment from the pedestrian mall for the remainder of a day; a second citation puts the Marketplace off limits for 30 days; and a third ostracizes an offender for up to one year.

Advocates argued that the new measure is needed because current penalties have not adequately deterred illegal behaviors on Church Street. Outdoor Gear Exchange owner Marc Sherman told councilors that potential customers don't want to expose their children to the "reality show at Church and Cherry" — the location of Sherman's store.

Councilors then debated what could be interpreted as an offensive or illegal "reality show."

Rachel Siegel, a Ward 3 Progressive, proposed stripping from the ordinance references to "inappropriate" or "antisocial" behavior. These terms are "extremely subjective," Siegel argued, noting that years ago when she was a Marketplace peddler, she regarded one store's amplified tape loop of Alvin & the Chipmunks as "antisocial."

Ward 4 Democrat Dave Hartnett added, "I don't want it to apply to people who have purple hair."