The Pensacola City Council will consider this evening if the dropping of its two at-large seats should be put before voters, and also continue discussing a trio of proposed ordinances that prohibit activities such as sleeping in public and using public restrooms for bathing.
This will be the second reading of a proposed charter amendment which would phase out, as terms expire, council’s At-Large A and At-Large B seats. These seats are elected by, and serve the entire city as opposed to a single district.
Councilman Larry B. Johnson suggested cutting the seats, citing cost-savings and efficiency. Just over half the council is on board.
Other council members—including both at-large members, Megan Pratt and Charles Bare, as well as both African-American members, Gerald Wingate and Vice President Jewel Cannada-Wynn—have raised concerns over dropping the seats. They have questioned the impact of decreasing the size of the city’s legislative body, as well as the reasoning behind such a push.
Members of the black community have also raised objections to dropping the seats. They are concerned about the impact it would have on minority representation. Proponents on the council, meanwhile, have suggested the cut would actually increase minority representation.
Council is divided 5-4 on dropping the at-large seats. If that vote-line holds this evening, the charter amendment will be placed on the ballot of the June 11 special election, which has been scheduled to fill the Florida House of Representatives District 2 seat left vacant by the late Rep. Clay Ford.
The proposed ordinances before council—which city administration has said do not target the area homeless population—will receive their first readings tonight. If council’s 6-3 divide holds, the ordinances will be on track to a second reading and implementation.
The first ordinance would prohibit ‘camping,’ defined as sleeping in public in a tent, on a bedroll or covered with newspapers and cardboard. The second ordinance would prohibit using a public restroom for the purposes of activities such as washing, shaving or mixing beverages. The third ordinance—which has unanimous support on council—focuses on public urination and defecation.
The third ordinance previously contained language addressing “aggressive solicitation, begging or panhandling.†Council split that portion off for later consideration, due to the third proposed ordinance being a late agenda add-on.
City administration proposed similar ordinances in late 2011. That effort failed as a collection of homeless advocates, religious organizations and individuals associated with Occupy Pensacola vocally opposed the measures. They contended—and contend again now—that such ordinances would essentially criminalize homelessness.
Pensacola City Council meets today at 5:30 p.m. at Pensacola City Hall.