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St. Petersburg ordinances target the homeless

It soon may be illegal to sleep in public parks or leave personal items on city rights of way.

By CRISTINA SILVA, Times Staff Writer
Published January 11, 2008

William "Pops" Shumate, 59 and Savannah Brockelman, 22, sit in front of the possessions belonging to homeless people living around and outside city hall. Shumate is the man left in charge of these possessions.
	[Willie J. Allen, Jr. | Times]

ST. PETERSBURG - An afternoon nap at your local public park could soon become illegal.

On Thursday, the City Council unanimously approved two ordinances that would prohibit people from sleeping on public land during the day or leaving their personal items along the public right of way.

A public hearing on both ordinances will be held Jan. 24 before a final vote.

City officials approved a new no-begging zone Thursday that would ban panhandling in an area surrounding the bulk of downtown's favorite destinations, including the Pier, the Florida Holocaust Museum, Straub Park, the Renaissance Vinoy Resort & Golf Club and Williams Park.

The city already prohibits panhandling at night throughout the city and at locations such as bus stops and automated teller machines. The area around BayWalk also is a beggar-free zone, but the new measure is more inclusive, city officials said.

The stricter measures come in the midst of an ongoing protest outside City Hall, where dozens of homeless men and women have taken to piling their personal items on the sidewalk and sleeping along the public building at night.

"They have made a Mount Trashmore outside of City Hall," said Council Chairman Jamie Bennett. "We can't tolerate these activities anymore."

A city statute already prohibits people from sleeping along the public right of way at night if shelter beds are available. But city officials are unable to enforce that measure because area shelters are at capacity, said Deputy Mayor David Metz.

The new proposals would give police the authority to move people sleeping or reclining on public land during the day regardless if shelter is available, Metz said. The city also would have the power to seize private property left in a public space.

The effort was applauded Thursday by downtown business owners who are fed up with homeless men and women loitering outside their properties.

"It's a good first step if they follow up with enforcing it," said Lisa Murray, manager of Lonni's Sandwiches on Central Avenue, who has created a petition asking the city to take a tough stance against the homeless. "The enforcement will make it or break it."

Homeless men and women, some who have mental or hygiene problems, scare away customers, Murray said.

"We have outdoor seating, and no one wants to sit out there," she said. "No one wants to sit next to a guy that smells to the high heavens."

But homeless advocates counter that the ordinances would push the homeless out of St. Petersburg without offering an alternative solution.

"What they are essentially doing is declaring the homeless as nonpersons, saying they don't have the rights of everyone else," said the Rev. Bruce Wright, founder of Refuge Ministries and a longtime critic of the city's policies concerning the homeless. "It's a violation of freedom of speech, freedom of assembly."

Homeless people, who have nowhere to store their personal items or sleep, will have limited options if the proposals become law, Wright said.

"They don't have a home," he said. "If the city offered storage space, the homeless would take it."

Cristina Silva can be reached at 727 893-8846 or csilva@sptimes.com.

[Last modified January 10, 2008, 23:37:28]