Northpinellas: Clearwater will set up a people feeding zone

The new policy, which will be written by City Manager Bill Horne, would ban anyone from feeding homeless people in public areas except for the designated meal zone below City Hall, 112 S Osceola Ave.

City commissioners last week gave Horne the go-ahead to create the meal zone. Officials haven't decided whether there would be any penalty for violations.

The area is being created because residents and business owners have complained about problems such as trash left behind or public urination in city parks that often are the site of handouts by religious groups and other organizations.

"We've got to manage this," City Manager Bill Horne told commissioners at a recent meeting. "We're going to have to take the gloves off and really move forward and learn as we go through this."

Karen Hanson, an associate pastor at Countryside Christian Center, said the new regulations shouldn't be a big problem for her church, which brings about 90 bag lunches to homeless people in Clearwater every Saturday.

"We're willing to work with the city," said Hanson, who has already talked with Police Chief Sid Klein about the issue.

Horne urged commissioners to discuss a variety of issues related to homelessness recently, because of complaints made this fall by downtown business owners who feel threatened by homeless people, particularly at Station Square downtown. The owners of Clearwater Tower, for instance, have complained that they had feces dumped on their property in retaliation for calling police officers to escort people trying to sleep there.

There have also been complaints from residents, particularly around Crest Lake Park, where crowds regularly gather for charitable meals that are doled out.

Elizabeth France and Sharon Malick, representatives of the Skycrest Neighbors, a group that represents the neighborhood around Crest Lake, said they do not oppose people trying to help the homeless.

Their problem is with assorted junk left behind in the park after meals. After one such event, they said, they found two abdominal crunch machines and a broken office chair. Neighbors have also seen people urinating in public, washing their laundry in the park bathrooms and sleeping in the tube slides in the playground, France said.

"No one should go hungry," said France, "but I also feel bad that parents are afraid to let kids go to the park by themselves. This creates problems for people who live near the park."

Clearwater is not the only city that has grappled with the issue. Assistant City Attorney Rob Surette told commissioners recently that both Miami and Fort Lauderdale have fought legal battles over the issue of charitable meals and the rights of religious groups to minister to the poor.

Legal rulings so far, Surette said, give a city the right to reasonably regulate such meals, but not to prohibit them completely.

Only Commissioner Ed Hart expressed reservations about creating a designated meal area. Other commissioners approved of the idea, although they urged the city to create the zone near City Hall, and not in Coachman Park as Police Chief Sid Klein had suggested.

"This is real tough," said Commissioner Bill Jonson. "But I think it makes a lot of sense to have a common area that can be used, and we'll be able to deal with hygiene and issues like that a lot better there."

Mayor Brian Aungst said the commission doesn't want to discourage charity, because the city needs help tackling issues related to homelessness.

Commissioner Whitney Gray said the area below City Hall could be a good place for meals because there is access to restrooms, water and trash cans and it is away from residential areas.

Still, did they have to use the terminology of "public feeding area?"

Assistant City Manager Garry Brumback said he could see it was probably not the best wording. Maybe "charitable meal" zone would be a better term, he said.

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