Orlando city leaders vote to make it illegal to intentionally block sidewalks

Despite public opposition, Orlando City Council gave final approval to an ordinance that would make it illegal to “intentionally” block the passage of others on public sidewalks. Only District 6 City Commissioner Bakari Burns voted against the proposal, which critics worry will disproportionately target homeless people.

The ordinance approved Monday afternoon expands the city’s definition of “disorderly conduct,” a misdemeanor offense that previously referred to certain obstructive and aggressive behaviors. Disorderly conduct, under city code, will now also refer to:

Any person who, walks, stands, sits, lies, or places an object in such manner as to intentionally block passage by another person or to require another person to take evasive action to avoid physical contact, or who, after being ordered to move by law enforcement officers, remains in or on any public street or sidewalk in such a manner as to block or impair movement of vehicles or pedestrians.

Refusing to get lost after being told by the cops to move out of the way (“disperse”), could now be considered a misdemeanor under the ordinance, subject to a fine of up to $500 and up to 60 days in jail.

City leaders unanimously voted to advance the ordinance during its first reading last month, and approved it through a second vote Monday. They heard from over a dozen members of the public, ranging from community activists to a pharmacist calling into the meeting to a local attorney — all of whom opposed the proposal. Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer said he didn’t “buy” the idea that the ordinance would target people living on the streets, while Commissioner Regina Hill argued it was an issue of public safety.

“Something has to be done,” she said, although no one could quite identify why expanding the city’s definition of the misdemeanor charge was necessary, beyond sharing personal anecdotes of being harassed by rowdy people downtown.

Commissioner Patty Sheehan tried to turn it into a women’s rights issue by saying that she didn’t always feel safe walking back to her car after events downtown, and how much of a shame that was, as a woman.

Hill recalled an incident several weeks ago in which someone apparently broke into her house in the early hours of the morning, terrifying her and threatening the safety of her grandson. This person had been sleeping outside her house, she said. Apparently this was relevant to people who take up too much space on public sidewalks? No one mentioned that homeless people with no safe place to go at night are also probably terrified of lurking dangers. She, unlike others on the dais, didn’t actually deny that the ordinance could affect homeless people, but she maintained that it wasn’t meant to “target” them.

Community members who spoke against the ordinance during its public hearing argued the language is vague and ambiguous (a criticism commissioner Burns agreed with). Some said they thought the measure is focused more on appeasing the “aesthetic sensibilities” of city leaders who don’t want tourists to see unsheltered people on the streets downtown.

“This ordinance is not about pedestrian safety,” said one person during public comment, who identified as a mother and survivor of domestic violence. “This ordinance is about the image the City Beautiful strives to maintain as progressive, diverse and welcoming. It’s about maintaining a certain image to the many visitors and tourists that drive the city’s profits.”

State Rep. Anna Eskamani, D-Orlando, similarly wrote a letter to Dyer and city commissioners Monday with concerns about the disorderly conduct expansion, adding that she was concerned it could also criminalize other activities that may take place on sidewalks.

“It should be noted that individuals collecting petitions, amplifying their events or small businesses, worshipping, or otherwise expressing their First Amendment rights on a sidewalk could also be impacted by this proposed ordinance,” Eskamani wrote, in a letter posted to social media. “Let’s continue to lead with compassion and explore alternatives that address homelessness without resorting to punitive measures.”

Martha Are, president and CEO of the Homeless Services Network of Central Florida — which works with city leaders to strategize solutions for homelessness in Orlando — pointed out in a statement to Orlando Weekly last week that there are already city laws on the books that generally prevent homeless people from camping out on sidewalks for too long.

Orlando already bans camping or sleeping on public property, and has in past years passed laws banning panhandling. The city changed those panhandling laws in 2017, after similar ones in cities elsewhere were declared unconstitutional. Still, a current webpage on the city’s website explains that the Orlando Police Department “continues to enforce aggressive solicitation and harassment ordinances, which has led to as many as 600-800 arrests per year.” A Republican state lawmaker this year is now trying to ban panhandling in most cases statewide, but experts say that’s likely unconstitutional.

City commissioners acknowledged Orlando’s existing anti-homeless ordinances during Monday’s meeting and maintained that this new ordinance, unlike those, isn’t meant to jail or fine people with limited options and no other secure place to sleep.

An attorney for the Orlando Police Department said the new ordinance was only meant to criminalize those who intentionally block pedestrian traffic on public sidewalks, citing putting up some sort of barricade as an example (what is this, Les Miserables?) One member of the public quipped that it’s usually cops barricading the sidewalks.

“If anything, [the ordinance] is far more likely to be used in situations during the busy closing time in downtown Orlando as the bars are letting out,” said police attorney Michael Filteau.

But not everyone was convinced. Orlando resident Samuel Delgado commented that he heard a lot of “shoulds” from the police attorney, like whether a police officer should or should not try to arrest someone who’s sitting on the edge of the sidewalk because shelters are full or they have no place else to go. 

“Your intention in how this ordinance is enforced is really important in the passage of this language, right? But you won’t be there when it’s being imposed.”

Are, from the Homeless Services Network, called on the city during Monday’s meeting to review the ordinance “with a careful lens” and to “explore ways to ensure protection from unintended consequences.”

Florida’s Orange County has one of the highest rates of homeless people in its jail system in the nation.

Commissioners Tony Ortiz and Bakari Burns both expressed a willingness to rework some of the language, after hearing concerns from members of the public. But a city attorney maintained that similar language has been used by the city of Seattle with no legal trouble on their end, and Dyer expressed unease with the idea of altering the language during its second hearing. Commissioner Robert Stuart suggested the city should receive a report-back on the implementation of the ordinance in six months’ time, which Dyer seemed amenable to.

Both Are and Eskamani acknowledged in their comments to city leaders that the city has taken other, less punitive measures in the recent past to address issues of homelessness in the community, and said they want the city to continue on that path.

Housing instability has been trending upward in Central Florida in recent years, with a 75% increase in unsheltered homelessness reported in Orange, Osceola and Seminole counties since 2019. Taking action on the issue, the city dedicated $58 million of federal American Rescue Plan funds to address issues of homelessness and affordable housing in 2022. (Dyer seemed personally offended no one mentioned this during public comment, and bizarrely tried to school a young member of the public on it after they blasted the city for “misusing” public funds “for something as unproductive as a drone light show” over the holidays.)

So far, millions of dollars from that pot of federal funds, dubbed Accelerate Orlando, have gone toward projects such as converting a blighted hotel into affordable housing units; investing in nonprofits that provide wraparound services and shelter to homeless people (including the Homeless Services Network); and investing in mixed-income housing development.

An estimated 200 to 250 unsheltered people live on the streets of Orlando on any given day. And in downtown Orlando, many congregate on or near the sidewalks or near Lake Eola Park, due to a centralization of resources for homeless people in the downtown area.

Commissioner Tony Ortiz, a former cop himself, bemoaned members of the public’s apparent lack of faith in law enforcement — that is, automatically assuming they’d wield this new law against people who don’t have a home to return to. Commissioner Hill said law enforcement would absolutely avoid victimizing people (they would never!) who are already struggling just to get by.

“I have faith in our law enforcement agency, I have faith in our chief, and they’re not going to go out and victimize people that’ve already been victimized,” said Hill.

Jail records analyzed by the Jail Data Initiative, however, show that nearly 30% of people currently incarcerated in the Orange County jail are unsheltered or presumably unsheltered, based on their address information.

Led by New York University’s Public Safety Lab, the Jail Data Initiative analyzes information released by the Orange County Corrections Department and other corrections agencies. Their analysis estimated that nearly 800 of the roughly 2,800 people in jail as of Monday, Jan. 8, lack stable housing. Booking information shows some of the inmates identified as unsheltered were arrested for trespassing or camping, while others were taken in on drug possession charges, disorderly conduct (based on the previous definition of the charge), driving without a license or petty theft.

Orion Taylor, the lead data scientist at NYU’s Public Safety Lab, remarked last month on the social media platform X that Orange County has one of the highest rates of homeless people in its jail system in the country. Nationally, formerly incarcerated people are also almost 10 times more likely to end up homeless.

Local community activists told Orlando Weekly after the city’s vote Monday that they felt unheard by most of the city leaders (save for commissioner Burns) and questioned city leaders’ sincerity.

“Commissioner Sheehan was speaking on her experience walking through the streets of downtown as a woman and feeling unsafe, but I think one of the speakers [during public comment] hit on that perfectly, where unhoused women face incredible violence from people on the street taking advantage of them, from police officers themselves,” said local activist Itza Pena.

With Orlando City Council’s approval, the ordinance goes into effect immediately.

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This article appears in Jan 3-9, 2024.