Orlando City Council Approves Panhandling Restrictions

orlandosentinel.com/community/news/conway/orl-beg1107sep11,0,4226728.story

No panhandling in the dark, Orlando says
City moves to limit begging -- ACLU says it can't

Mark Schlueb

Sentinel Staff Writer

(published) September 11, 2007

If you need spare change, don't wait until after dark to ask for it.

The Orlando City Council voted 5-1 Monday to grant preliminary approval to an ordinance that would prohibit panhandling anywhere within city limits between sunset and sunrise.

For the past seven years, the city has confined beggars downtown to a few dozen "panhandling zones," which are 3-by-15-foot rectangles painted on the sidewalk.

Police Chief Mike McCoy said the nighttime ban is a matter of public safety.

"We ought to be able to go outside without being worried about being accosted after dark," McCoy said. "It makes it a lot safer for everyone involved to limit it to the daytime hours."

A representative of the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida spoke against the proposal, arguing that it is unconstitutional.

"It tramples the most basic and fundamental of rights that are guaranteed by the constitution: the right to free speech," Matt de Vlieger said.

In 1997, the city began requiring would-be panhandlers to go to police headquarters to obtain a special permit before asking for money. When courts began overturning similar laws in other cities, Orlando dropped that rule in favor of the painted panhandling boxes.

Sean Kane, who has been battling the city's anti-panhandling efforts for years, predicted the nighttime ban would be overturned if challenged in court. The city's justification for the ordinance -- complaints about aggressive panhandlers -- doesn't hold up, Kane said.

"Everything we've listened to is anecdotal hyperbole," he said.

But city officials said other cities, such as Sarasota and Pittsburgh, have adopted nighttime bans. Orlando's original proposal was to ban panhandling from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m., but the council changed it.

Commissioner Robert Stuart, executive director of the Christian Service Center, was the City Council's lone dissenter. He said the council should put off a decision until the Regional Commission on Homelessness, which was formed in June, issues its recommendations. Stuart also said the ban isn't necessary because there are already laws on the books to deal with aggressive and abusive panhandlers.

"I think this is a bad ordinance at the wrong time," Stuart said. "If people feel threatened today, they can call, and that situation can be taken care of."

But other commissioners said more needs to be done.

"We get called mean because we don't want people being chased, we don't want people being harassed, we don't want people being assaulted," Commissioner Patty Sheehan said. "I'm constantly getting panhandled, and it's scary."

The council is expected to grant final approval to the ban at its next meeting.

Mark Schlueb can be reached at 407-420-5417 or mschlueb@orlandosentinel.com.