City of Milwaukee proposal would require masks in public places, including indoors and outdoors within 30 feet of others

An ordinance proposed by a Milwaukee alderwoman would require people to wear masks when they are in public — including when they are indoors or at an outdoor public place and see "a person within 30 feet who is not a member of the person's family or household."

The proposal, introduced Tuesday by Ald. Marina Dimitrijevic, would create a requirement for people to wear masks in public spaces throughout the duration of the "Moving Milwaukee Forward" order, which is aimed at stopping the spread of the coronavirus.

Dimitrijevic said the proposal is still being updated, but aims to help stop the recent surge of coronavirus cases.

"I don't think anyone can ignore that data show we're heading in the wrong direction," she told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Dimitrijevic added that enforcement is focused on indoor public places, while rules for outdoor areas allow for "self-enforcement" in an effort to keep people from passing too close to each other.

"You're being the judge of it," she said.

If implemented as is, it would be among the stricter mask ordinances around the country. Officials frequently recommend wearing masks to slow the spread of the coronavirus if you cannot stay 6 feet away from people who aren't members of your household.

The 30-foot requirement is modeled after San Francisco, Dimitrijevic said. That city's face mask requirement includes, "walking or running outside and you see someone within 30 feet (about the length of a Muni bus)."

"By putting on your face covering when you are walking and see someone at 30 feet away, both of you will have enough time to put on your face coverings if you get close to each other," the SF.gov website reads.

Mayor Tom Barrett on Tuesday stressed that the ordinance is still "a work in progress.".

"We want to make sure it withstands a legal challenge if there is one," he said. "It's a work in progress. It's not done yet."

Barrett and city Health Commissioner Jeanette Kowalik said they were working with Dimitrijevic and others to update the proposal.

The mandate would apply to anyone who is 2 years old or older, although that could be raised to 3, Dimitrijevic said.

The plan would require Milwaukee businesses to enforce the mask requirement or risk being shut down by the Health Department. Any business that failed to enforce the rule would be given a warning and chance to comply, followed by a citation between $50 to $500, and then could be shut down after more than two incidents.

As drafted, the ordinance also says "a business has the right to refuse service to any person for failure to comply," and any person who continues to violate the ordinance could get a citation.

City of Milwaukee employees and other people on the premises of any city facility would be required to wear masks.

Asked if he could mandate masks without council approval, Barrett said the city attorney "feels it is important to go through the council."

But he also noted that Dane County public health officials mandated that all residents in that county wear face masks indoors unless they're at home.

Late last month a coalition of more than 70 Milwaukee businesses called on Barrett and Common Council President Cavalier Johnson to require the wearing of masks in restaurants, bars and other businesses visited by the public.

In a discussion last week, Kowalik fielded questions from members of the Common Council as they wondered how and whether the Health Department could handle enforcement of a mask mandate. Some council members also raised concerns about the scope of a potential requirement — including whether masks would have to be worn outdoors.

At that same meeting, concerns arose about potential inequities in access to masks. Ald. Khalif Rainey said he felt the city had fallen short of its responsibility to provide masks to residents and such an effort should be made ahead of enforcing such a policy.

City officials are also working on a proposal to help provide masks to residents.

Most of the mask mandates around the country require wearing masks while indoors in public places or when outdoors in public places and unable to maintain a 6-foot distance. While some mask ordinances provide detailed guidelines about when a mask should be worn, others are much more vague.

Some places are willing to enforce their mandates with fines, including Texas and Phoenix, while other places like New York State, Illinois, Los Angeles, San Jose are not imposing fines for violating their mandates.

None of the 10 largest cities had a rule requiring people to wear face coverings outdoors whenever they are within 30 feet of someone who is not a member of your family or household.

The proposed Milwaukee ordinance allows some exceptions to the mask ordinance, including:

• Children under the age of 2.
• Those who can't wear a mask due to a medical condition, mental health condition, developmental disability, or are "otherwise covered under the Americans with Disabilities Act."
• People who have upper-respiratory chronic conditions and "silent disabilities."
• People getting medical or dental treatments.

Contact Mary Spicuzza at (414) 224-2324 or mary.spicuzza@jrn.com. Follow her on Twitter at @MSpicuzzaMJS.