- Leon County commissioners voted 6-1 to implement a $250 fine for pedestrians and drivers who exchange items at medians under six feet wide.
- It was an effort to reduce panhandling without implementing jail time for violators.
- Watch now to hear why one commissioner voted against any penalties at all.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Leon County Commissioners voted Tuesday to make panhandling a civil violation, but they drew the line at making it a crime.
I'm Alberto Camargo in downtown Tallahassee, breaking down how the vote struck a balance between prioritizing the safety of all neighbors and compassion for the most vulnerable of them.
Occupying or making exchanges between pedestrians and drivers on medians smaller than six feet wide is now a civil violation.
This applies to both pedestrians and drivers or passengers on all medians that divide parallel lanes of traffic on roads outside of Tallahassee city limits.
However, the original idea for punishment was softened.
By a 6-1 vote, county commissioners voted to lower the fine from $500 to $250. Commissioners also went a step further, getting rid of a proposal for up to 60 days in jail.
Only Commissioner David O'Keefe voted against the new ordinance.
"We send the message that poverty is something we can punish or legislate out of you. I don't think that's who we are, so I'm voting no, and asking you all to vote no on any ordinance, and I'd like us to focus on helping people and treating everyone with the dignity they deserve."
O'Keefe's concerns were shared by Johnna Coleman, executive director of Big Bend Continuum of Care.
I spoke with her before the meeting. Coleman says she wants the priority to be compassion and not punishment.
"We are seeing people experience homelessness for the first time in numbers that we've never seen before. Just like you and I are sitting here at our jobs, that could change tomorrow. So I really think that we have to come together as a nation, as a community and really think about what it would take to humanize the situation and form solutions from that part of our hearts."
Commissioner Nick Maddox introduced the idea to soften punishment while maintaining safety as his priority.
"I've seen children in the medians fundraising. That is not safe. I've seen adults in the medians fundraising. That is not safe. Homeless or not. I've seen firemen carry boots up and down the road, that is not safe."
According to Leon County Public Works, there are just three medians in the county that are wider than six feet.
Those are on N. Monroe St. at the corner of Sessions Rd., Mahan Dr. at the corner of Lagniappe, and Capital Circle at the corner of Woodville Hwy.
"It'll be 100 drivers in an hour, and one or two people out there. Tonight, I'm voting in the interest of the 100 people who are drivers, instead of the 1 or 2 people out there in the road."
For all roads within city limits, the city of Tallahassee's 2018 ordinance still applies.
Which makes it illegal to come in contact or exchange items with drivers from any sidewalk, median or bike lane.
County attorney Chasity H. O'Steen says the violation can still become trespassing if the violator does not leave the area — like any other trespassing incident..
In downtown Tallahassee, Alberto Camargo, ABC27.
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