City to strike ban on being willfully annoying

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — It’s soon expected to be OK to be willfully annoying in Grand Rapids.

The Grand Rapids Press reports that the City Commission is nixing a 38-year-old section of city code that states “no person shall willfully annoy another person.”

City Attorney Catherine Mish recommended repealing the language, saying the wording is “unconstitutional in terms of being vague” and “simply unenforceable.” A final decision is expected March 11.

Even with the change, related crimes such as obstructing someone in a public place or assault would still be on the books.

Mish has been scouring city code to find archaic rules.

Last year, rules that got a look included one prohibiting people from riding horses on a sidewalk and another allowing jail time for failing to return a library book.