ST. LOUIS — A St. Louis alderwoman typically considered among the board's left flank has come out against controversial legislation decriminalizing public urination and defecation for homeless people and making it easier to open homeless shelters in city neighborhoods, signaling that the bills may have a tough time passing.
"I do not support allowing unhoused folks (or pretty much anyone past toddlerhood) to urinate or defecate in public," Alderwoman Anne Schweitzer, who represents south side neighborhoods including Carondelet Park and Holly Hills, wrote in a post on social media. "I do not support muting neighborhood voices by substituting the conditional use process for the plat and petition process for large shelters. I do not support spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to prop up encampments that do not offer support services, heating or cooling, or shelter besides a tent. All the good intentions in the world do not equal good policy."