July 25, 2006
Boos, applause and raucous outbursts from the gallery laced a four-hour public hearing Monday as a majority of the Orlando City Council banned the feeding of homeless groups in Lake Eola Park and other city property downtown.
"See you in court," Eric Montanez called to the council after the 5-2 vote. Montanez is a member of the group Food Not Bombs, which has been feeding the homeless in the downtown park. He and others in the group vowed they would defy the ban and feed the homeless anyway.
George Crossley, director of the local chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, said his group planned to seek a court injunction today to suspend the ordinance.
City Council members said they were justified in approving the ban for public safety, sanitation and the simple fact that downtown parks aren't soup kitchens.
The ordinance specifically bans feeding groups of 25 or larger in parks and other city property within a two-mile radius of City Hall without a special one-time-use permit.
"It's not an easy day for me at all," said Commissioner Patty Sheehan, who pushed for the ordinance after complaints from downtown business owners and some residents that the homeless were taking over Lake Eola Park.
She has said that the new ordinance has been wrongly cast as anti-homeless.
"I've been an advocate [for the homeless]," she said. "Even though you'll call me an enemy, I'll still be your friend."
Proponents of the ordinance include downtown developer Craig Ustler, who said the issue does not stem from a "not in my backyard" mentality. He said it is an essential step in keeping a clean, safe, vibrant city.
About a dozen downtown residents and business owners spoke in favor of the rule.
Eric Kerlin said people have used his yard and bushes as a bathroom and damaged his property. More urgently, "I'd like to use the park without fear of being harassed or robbed."
But the call against passing the ordinance was loud and long -- with 45 speakers from various groups, including a formal declaration from the University of Central Florida's student senate. Others opponents included well-known homeless charity groups, such as The Ripple Effect, and lesser-known ones, such as Tailgating for Jesus and the First Vagabond Church of God.
Natasha Inzarry, a UCF student who started Volunteer UCF, begged the council not to pass the ordinance and, instead, sit at the table with students and others to find a better solution.
She broke down in tears after the vote.
But Robin Stotter, who is opening a restaurant downtown, said the ordinance is needed.
"The homeless issue is not going to be solved today," he said. "It's a safety issue, and the public deserves a safe place to be."
Stotter also pledged his money for food, medicine and shelter for the homeless.
Commissioners Robert Stuart, who runs the homeless shelter Christian Service Center, and Sam Ings, a retired police officer, voted against the measure.
Stuart said the city is taking a step to "criminalize good-hearted people" who are trying to help. He also said he didn't think group feedings in the parks had become unwieldy to the city.
He said the ordinance says, "Orlando doesn't care." Ings said that, while the ordinance was being cast as a public-safety issue, he thinks it's more about covering up the city's homeless problem.
"We're putting a Band-Aid on a critical problem," he said.
Mayor Buddy Dyer said the city has a difficult balancing act between controlling the parks and helping the homeless. He has called for a regional approach to helping the homeless.
"I support this [ordinance], but I pledge to you that we'll work hard to do more."