Where Should Selby Library Vagrant Population Go?

In Sarasota, it's the same conversation, different summer when it comes to the downtown vagrant population.

The focal point is targeted at  — exactly a year after the same discussions took place.

Sarasota resident Frank Brenner brought up the issue at the July 16 City Commission meeting calling the library “Sarasota Campgrounds” because of the amount of people sleeping on the steps and the perimeter of Selby Library.

To Brenner, the folks camping at Selby aren’t what you would call homeless, but instead vagrants where they beg for money, bus passes or may swipe a bicycle. 

“We are not speaking about homeless people who lost their jobs and therefore are in distress,” Brenner said. “Without exception all of these people shown in photographs that I have seen are young, able bodied people who have made a conscious choice not to work. But the City of Sarasota can expect to support them for the next 50 to 60 years.” 

He told the commission he also has filed police complaints to break up the crowd and fights there. 

Your Turn: Tell Us How You Would Address The Selby Vagrant Population.

“To have a blight in the very core of the City of Sarasota makes absolutely no sense,” he said.

Sarasota Police also have to take in account anyone’s right to visit the library, outside or inside, Capt. Paul Sutton told WWSB:

"You look at a place like the library…if a large number of people are hanging out on the outside of the library, and they're not violating any Florida state statutes, and they're not violating any city ordinances, then the police are not going to take any action against them."

And while it may not look like much can be done, Sutton says numbers show that police are doing the best they can when the law allows. "Arrests for alcohol violations are up, arrests for panhandling are up, arrests for unauthorized lodging on property are all up."

The library tells ABC 7 that it has its own code of conduct that they expect everyone to follow. They say as long as you adhere to that, anyone is welcome there. They also have a security officer that patrols the grounds to keep an eye on things as well. 

Attempts At Addressing Vagrant Population

Creative legislation to address the population has had its challenges and resistance in Sarasota and the area. 

At the same time Sarasota looked at , it considered passing a law  that also failed to be passed. A trespassing ordinance was suspended this year as the  because the appeals process was deemed to be unclear, but has since been reinstated after corrections. 

While Clearwater Patch reports that 

Yet in Sarasota, it's not a law prompting the latest issue. It's the  without finding ways to stop that easy change of venue across the street.

New Conversations

Brenner followed up his appearance by writing the commission a suggestion to either create new laws or fix current laws on the books to help enforcement:

It, Section 34-41 of the Sarasota Code of Ordinances, defines “Lodging-out-of-doors” as

“using public or private property for living accommodation purposes ... by laying down of bedding, such as a blanket or sleeping bag or similar material for the purpose of sleeping.” 

This precludes effective treatment of the problem because

                  (a)  “living accommodation” is defined as “resid[ing] at a place for a period of time for the purpose of using such place as home.”  It is impossible to imagine what constitutes “a period of time” and, moreover,  how it could be determined that the charged offender was seeking the permanency of a “home.”  Thus, this provision, alone, emasculates the ordinance.

                  (b)  despite the fact that an individual is seen sleeping, it is not possible for a police officer to determine whether his bedding was laid down “for the purpose of sleeping” or for some other purpose.  It is no more possible for an officer to read another’s mind than it is to read tea leaves.  The person charged need only say he laid down a blanket to keep trousers clean and the enforcement effort would fail.

Brenner also points out two other laws:

Section 877.03 F. S., entitled “Breach of the peace; disorderly conduct,” provides, to the extent relevant,

“Whoever commits such acts as are of a nature to . . .  affect the peace and quiet of persons who may witness them, or engages in brawling or fighting, or engages in such conduct as to constitute a breach of the peace or disorderly conduct, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor of the second degree.” 

Section 30-3 of the Code, entitled “Obstructing pedestrian . . . traffic,” provides that 

“It shall be unlawful for any person to place . . .  himself or any object of any nature or description upon . . . any public way, sidewalk or footpath or other area used by the public or pedestrian . . . traffic in such a manner as to impede or interfere with the flow of pedestrian traffic . . .” 

City Attorney Robert Fournier has reached out to the City Manager’s Office and the Sarasota Police Department to gauge their interest on discussing this topic at a future meeting.

“I agree with Mr. Brenner that both Sec. 877.03 F.S. and Sec. 30-3 of the City Code should be of some use in addressing the situation described in his email,” Fournier wrote to city commissioners.

Last year, Sarasota Police said that the while the city reviewed the ordinance in July 2011.