Mercer Island will change the definitions and curfew times in its solicitation ordinance at the City Council meeting on Feb. 23 to comply with the terms of a Federal Court injunction issued Tuesday, Feb. 10.

The suit requires that the city allow solicitors to be on the Island for a longer period of time in the evenings.

The change will not alter the fundamentals of the city’s new law that stipulates three standards: that any potential commercial solicitors must register with the city, that solicitors can only be on the Island during set hours and that they must obey “no soliciting” signs on private residences.

The injunction was filed by Seattle lawyer Harry Williams on behalf of the United States Mission Corporation. It alleges that Mercer Island’s 7 p.m. curfew on solicitation violates the First Amendment’s right to free speech.

The Mission helps homeless people who, while living in the Mission’s residential facilities, are required to engage in door-to-door religious solicitation to practice the ‘Social Gospel’ and obtain funding. The Mission has found that weekday hours, particularly between 5 p.m. and 8 p.m., are the most productive for canvassing.

Federal Judge Ricardo Martinez required that the curfew for solicitors be extended to at least 8 p.m., with 9 p.m. as the better alternative. The Council will vote on this at its Feb. 23 meeting.

Martinez did not find any factual connection between solicitation and burglaries — a concern among citizens that prompted Mercer Island to adopt a new municipal ordinance regulating the activities of door-to-door solicitors in February last year.

Yet, throughout the discussion about the ordinance, Mercer Island Police and the city emphasized that the presence of solicitors is not related to an increase in burglaries.

The city’s ordinance allowed soliciting only between the hours of 10 a.m. and 7 p.m. including

weekends and holidays, and required commercial solicitors to apply for a soliciting license from the City Clerk and carry it at all times, with some exceptions.

The Mission also operates in  Oregon, California and Hawaii, and is not the Union Gospel Mission in downtown Seattle.

The Mission hasn’t done any canvassing on Mercer Island yet, said city attorney Katie Knight. She said a lot of cities in the Seattle area have similar definitions of solicitation — and some are more restrictive.

“The Council worked to address concerns within the bounds of the law,” Knight said. “Free speech is constitutionally protected, and we have to adjust to comply with what the court said.”

Mayor Bruce Bassett stated in a press release that the city appreciates the court’s clarification of the issue.

“We must always be careful to balance the right to free speech with the right to privacy,” he said.

Residents wishing to curtail solicitor visits can post “no soliciting” or “no trespassing” signs outside their homes. Solicitors who approach after seeing the sign are in violation of the city’s ordinance, and may be cited for trespassing.

The 15-page injunction letter can be viewed on the city website.

For more details and guidance on the current regulations, visit www.mercergov.org/soliciting.