Mayor Sue Bauman vetoed the city’s highly debated loitering ordinance Tuesday.

The veto comes after the City Council voted Feb. 19 to keep the ordinance on the books.

Enacted in 1997 as a measure to deter open-air drug activity in certain Madison neighborhoods, the ordinance received criticism from council members claiming the ordinance unfairly targets minority residents.

But Madison Police Chief Richard Williams insists the ordinance serves its intended purpose — to police open-air drug sales — and does not target minorities, although the majority of citations are given to minority offenders.

Bauman said the police department originally advised the council that more citations would likely be given to people of color than to Caucasians because of the high population of minority residents in targeted neighborhoods, but she said the ordinance is not having the desired effect.

“Open-air drug-dealing continues, especially in the Cypress/Magnolia neighborhood,” she said. “An extraordinary number of citations are issued to people of color — in percentages not only far exceeding their percentage in the city of Madison, but also far in excess of the population density of people of color in the neighborhoods affected.”

If the council does not act on the mayor’s veto at their meeting Tuesday, the ordinance will expire March 5.

While Bauman said she disapproves of the ordinance, she also thinks an immediate expiration would not allow the police department enough time to develop new methods of dealing with drug activity. She urged council members to adopt a sunset clause, which would keep the law temporarily.

Ald. Steve Holtzman, District 19, said he supports the loitering ordinance as a means to dissuade drug activity, and he is disappointed with the mayor’s action.

“I think the mayor’s veto is an indication that she is joining those who claim the police department is racist,” he said. “She is making a huge mistake.”

Holztman said the council would likely not vote to override the mayor’s veto, but he said he and several other council members are considering options to counter her veto effort. He also said supporters of the ordinance do not want to offer a sunset provision and would likely vote to have the issue reconsidered. “We will not vote to extend the sunset,” Holztman said. “It is very unjustified to expect the police to go through this again.” Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4, said he is happy with the mayor’s action.

“I am relieved that the mayor finally recognizes the ordinance is the wrong approach to dealing with drug issues,” Verveer said. “I have always felt the ordinance was racist.”

The council will revisit the issue at their meeting Tuesday.