The Honolulu City Council has expedited a final vote on a bill to ban street performers during certain hours in one section of Waikiki — scheduling it for a special meeting Tuesday.

But the American Civil Liberties Union of Hawai'i opposes the bill and asks why the council isn't following its normal routine of awaiting another committee meeting and then a regularly scheduled vote in January or February. "We're incredibly disappointed because this is a rush to judgment," executive director Lois Perrin said.

Perrin said the measure limits the First Amendment-guaranteed freedom of mimes, musicians and others by proposing to ban street performers between 7 and 10 nightly in a four-block stretch of Waikiki.

Councilman Charles Djou, an attorney who represents the area, said he worries about pedestrian safety on the crowded sidewalks, saying that the people gathered around the performers sometime push pedestrians into traffic.

Council Chairman Donovan Dela Cruz said he is scheduling the special meeting next week because city attorneys have asked to consult in closed session with the full council about the latest court action over a lawsuit on another matter.

"Bill 71 (the street performer measure) is not the reason that we're having the meeting," Dela Cruz said. "We're having the meeting, and we're adding it to the agenda."

In October, eight open-government and journalists organizations sued in state Circuit Court seeking to stop the City Council from holding "secret one-on-one meetings on council business."

The issue emerged in July when members of the council held a series of one-on-one meetings to reorganize some committees. Dela Cruz said a motion to dismiss that lawsuit will be heard in court tomorrow, and that's why he scheduled a special meeting next week.

Once that meeting was scheduled, Djou and other council members asked that other matters be heard at the same time. Dela Cruz said several items were added to the agenda, and that Djou had made a formal request for the expedited hearing and agreed to skip an additional committee meeting on the performers proposal.

Dela Cruz said he publicly posted notice of the meeting two days earlier than required by law to give as much notice as possible. "We posted early to give people more time. We're not hiding anything," he said.

Perrin has asked a national First Amendment expert to weigh in on the subject, but he is not available until the end of next week, and that is why she had hoped that the matter would not be poised for a final vote next week.

Dela Cruz said he did not receive Perrin's request until after he had scheduled the meeting. Both Djou and Dela Cruz said the council has been discussing the proposal for several months. No council member has voted against it on two previous occasions.

Mayor Mufi Hannemann has indicated that he is uncertain whether he will support the council bill. Hannemann has said he would prefer to designate certain areas in Waikiki where the performers would be allowed rather than banning them from certain places at certain times.

Djou said he doesn't believe changing the meeting date will alter the opinions of proponents such as himself or opponents such as Perrin.

"There's not going to be some new fact come out, whether we have this in January or February," he said.

"I don't see any good reason to delay a sensible measure aimed at public safety," he said.

Reach Robbie Dingeman at rdingeman@honoluluadvertiser.com.