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Curb mailboxes remain in limbo
By JON WILSON © St. Petersburg Times, published October 1, 2000 ST. PETERSBURG -- The city won't rush to punish property owners who don't immediately remove banned curbside mailboxes, officials say. The City Council in August approved a change in city law that requires owners who have curbside boxes -- or plan to install them -- to get a $25 permit. No permit could mean an appearance before the city's Code Enforcement Board. In theory, the board could place a lien on the property. But the city is willing to work with owners without a permit who are trying to get their curbside box removed, said Susan Ajoc, the neighborhood partnership director. "If the residents are really trying, we're not going to post a lien if they can't get a response from another agency," Ajoc said. Also, the council approved last Thursday a grace period on the permit fees. There will be no charge if an owner gets a permit on or before Jan. 12, 2001. Curbside boxes have been banned in the city since 1968. Under the new permitting approach, the boxes will be allowed only if the post office has notified an owner that door delivery has been ended because of a danger to the letter carrier, such as a dog, city officials say. They estimate about 1,610 curbside boxes are installed in St. Petersburg. Some owners lately have begun to feel pinched because of the city's new permit policy. On its heels came a postal service letter saying carriers are no longer permitted to deliver mail to an address where curbside boxes have been removed. "Some people feel they're pawns in this, and they're trying to figure out which way to go," said Herb Polson, the city's intergovernmental relations director. Since the postal service letter went out earlier this month, more than 300 residents have called City Hall with complaints or questions about the curbside issue, Ajoc said. And the issue, debated now for 31/2 years, continues to simmer in some neighborhoods. Some people are confused about what they should do. Some want the curbside mailboxes out. Others like the boxes, or at least would like a choice in the matter. Meadowlawn resident Rick Shaw is among the latter. He is circulating a petition, seeking support to overturn the statute that prohibits curbside boxes. "I have one," he said. "No one pressured me. I ordered it. I want to keep it." Meadowlawn is among the neighborhoods where many curbside boxes have been installed. Resident Marie McGhee likes them, too. "First of all, it has your address on it," McGhee said. "If you have an emergency, it's right there. You can put your name on there, too. "The second thing is, the older people. It gets them out of the house and they can walk down the driveway, and it's a a little bit of exercise for them," McGhee said. Other city residents are dead-set against them. Steve Plice, president of the Jungle Terrace Civic Association, even filed a complaint against the postal service several months ago about possible mail fraud in connection with curbside box installation. Plice said last week he had been told postal officials plan to look anew at his complaint, after setting it aside in the hope city government and the postal service could resolve their differences. Local and federal postal officials couldn't be reached Friday. But Plice isn't optimistic that the curbside boxes will be pulled, or stopped from spreading. "I suspect what the neighborhoods will have to do is go to the streets," he said. Last year, some residents picketed St. Petersburg's main post office to protest curbside delivery. North Shore resident Steve Lange was among the protesters. He said last week he continues to oppose the boxes. "My opinion is that they don't belong in this neighborhood," Lange said. "They shouldn't come. People should be educated to the fact that they don't work with the historical character of the neighborhood." He also said widespread on-street parking in North Shore makes curbside delivery impractical. The city began explaining its new law with fliers inserted in utility bills. (Ajoc noted the city's curbside policy pertains only to St. Petersburg residents, not to residents who live outside the city limits but still receive St. Petersburg utility service.) Notices will be delivered to the front doors of curbside box owners Oct. 9-10. Codes inspectors could start delivering citations by late October, she said.
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