The City Council passed a ban on aggressive panhandling near ATMs yesterday that came out of concerns from Waikiki residents about a growing homeless population in the community.

The ban carries a $25 fine for violators.

"The people I have a problem with aren't the homeless, they're the con artists," said Councilman Charles Djou, who wrote the bill after the Waikiki Neighborhood Board urged him to take up the issue. "It's unfortunate that this is needed."

Though many residents have applauded the ban, service providers contend the bill serves to criminalize homelessness instead of looking at the root causes of the problem.

"It really is a do-nothing bill," said Darlene Hein, program director for Waikiki Care-A-Van, which helps homeless people islandwide with food, medical supplies and other services.

"It may placate a few people, but it doesn't fix any problems."

The City Council voted unanimously in favor of the bill yesterday.

It will now go before Mayor Mufi Hannemann for final consideration.

Hannemann has not voiced an opinion on the bill, but Djou expects the mayor to allow the measure to pass without signing it.

Once it becomes law, the ban will be in effect islandwide.

Supporters say the biggest problems with panhandling are found in Waikiki and Downtown. The measure bans aggressive panhandling within 10 feet of an ATM. Aggressive panhandling as defined in the bill includes following people after they have declined to give money.

Djou said the measure is modeled after similar begging bans passed in several Mainland cities. The bill does not ban panhandling outright, and so Djou has said he is confident it will stand up against any legal challenges.

Many Waikiki residents have said panhandling in the state's No. 1 tourist destination appears to have worsened with an increase of people on the streets over the last several years. Others have contended that some panhandlers are not homeless at all but people who beg for a living.

"It's unfortunate that we have to pass legislation asking for plain old common courtesy," said Mike Peters, a member of the Waikiki Neighborhood Board who helped draft the ban.

"We feel that aggressive panhandling is socially unacceptable."

Peters said he would also support tougher loitering laws to stop homeless people from camping out at bus stops and on sidewalks. The neighborhood board failed to agree on a loitering resolution at its October meeting, when it supported the panhandling ban.

O'ahu's ban on aggressive panhandling comes a decade after the Big Island County Council passed a similar measure. The Big Island ban prohibits soliciting "in an aggressive manner" in public places and bans all panhandling within 10 feet of building entrances.

According to Big Island police, one person has been arrested and charged under the ban since 2005. Earlier statistics were not available.

Djou said the ban is not about issuing lots of fines but giving police officers another tool to protect visitors and residents.

Reach Mary Vorsino at mvorsino@honoluluadvertiser.com.