SACRAMENTO, California — Sacramento Councilmember Lisa Kaplan proposed an ordinance to increase fines relating to sideshows during a Law and Legislation Committee meeting on Tuesday. However, that proposal did not pass as residents raised some concerns.
This comes after another busy weekend for Sacramento Police Department as officers tried their best to break up a sideshow involving 100 cars in the East Del Paso Heights neighborhood.
During Tuesday's Law and Legislation Committee meeting, Kaplan introduced her ordinance to increase fines when it comes to sideshows. Over the last year, Sacramento police data shows there has been 323 sideshows across the city with 56 arrests within that same time frame. Kaplan's proposal would impound cars for 30 days, increase fines and potentially result in jail time.
"We cannot actually legislate and try to criminalize things out of existence," said Keyan Bliss.
Bliss is an active community member and disagrees with Kaplan's proposal saying sideshows are typically enjoyed by communities of color. He says this proposal is just targeting those people.
"Why don't we try to embrace that and meet with the community members that actually enjoy and experience. These activities are a part of their cultural heritage," said Bliss.
A big factor in Kaplan's proposal is safety. Earlier this month, Sacramento Fire Department officials said an innocent bystander had his car set on fire for being at the wrong place at the wrong time. While Bliss agrees safety can be a problem, he believes there's a better solution than proposing more fines.
"Why not give people a designated area, or better yet, just like make it easier to do within the areas that people enjoy doing or that are accessible," Bliss said.
City officials said people can do donuts and race legally at places like the Sacramento and Sonoma Raceway as well as Thunderhill. Because the ordinance did not pass, it will be presented again next month during another Law and Legislation Committee hearing, so that all council members can address concerns before it fully goes to City Council.
Another part of Kaplan's proposal includes engineering treatments to high problem areas. That would be in the form of speed bumps or plastic curbs at intersections that see the most sideshows.
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