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Ruling on tent city due today

By AARON SHAROCKMAN
Published January 12, 2007

ST. PETERSBURG - The fate of the homeless people remaining in the tent city today is still unclear.

Mayor Rick Baker said he will decide this morning whether residents of the makeshift camp can continue to stay or if the city should enforce code violations against the not-for-profit group that owns the land.

That group, the St. Vincent de Paul Society, says it plans to comply with city codes.

A final decision, Baker said, will rest largely on whether he believes social workers have had enough time to assist everyone who wanted help.

"We'll make that call when we get there," said Baker, who last week set a Friday deadline for people to leave the camp.

Residents of the camp, meanwhile, begged for more time.

Speaking before the City Council Thursday afternoon, several argued the camp has become the foundation to get their lives in order.

Others came to the group's defense, saying to throw them back onto the street would accomplish little.

Social workers have been distributing one-month $550 housing vouchers, but tent city residents have said they cannot find landlords to accept the voucher.

And what happens after that month's up? they asked.

"We're trying for nothing more than a good night's sleep without being arrested, beaten or rained on," said tent city resident Mary Street.

City officials cannot force the residents off the camp site because the land is privately owned.

The city, however, still controls the situation because the tent city violates city codes. Fines - which could be assessed by the Code Enforcement Board anywhere from $1 to $250 a day - are a last resort, said Sally Eichler, the city's codes compliance director. No citation would be made before Tuesday, Eichler said.

City Council member Bill Foster on Thursday asked whether the City Council could block the potential code violations, over the objections of Baker.

But Baker, according to city attorneys, has the final say.

"I don't want to be the welcome wagon for people who choose this as a lifestyle," Foster said. "But if we can't do better, we need to leave them alone."

Aaron Sharockman can be reached at asharockman@sptimes.com or 727 892-2273.

[Last modified February 8, 2007, 11:27:35]