ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. – A crackdown on panhandling in the nation's oldest city moved one step closer to becoming a reality.
At a meeting Monday evening, the St. Augustine City Commission voted unanimously to move forward with an ordinance proposing new rules to cut down on the number of vagrants in the historic downtown district.
The proposed ordinance would prevent panhandling within 20 feet of ATMs, parking meters, business entrances and exits, and other places.
The unanimous vote means the panhandling proposal will now have a second hearing, allowing for public comment, before it can be adopted.
The vote came after commissioners heard more than an hour of sworn testimony from police officers, business owners and city officials -- who said panhandling is a problem that is affecting the city.
The owner of a bed-and-breakfast testified about being personally harassed by aggressive panhandlers. He also recounted one incident in which he observed a client being followed by panhandlers.
But there were also people in attendance who defended panhandling. Tom Reynolds, a homeless advocate, told the City Commission that the proposal is unfair to people who are down on their luck.
"There's all these feet that I believe is unreasonable for this city," Reynolds said. "We have parking meters everywhere. There's ATMs everywhere. What, they're going to have tape measures? How are they going to be doing this?"
Adam Mutchler was the only self-described homeless person who attended the meeting.
"You guys are trying to make it impossible to even hold up a sign," he said. "I don't know what happened to humanity. Why do you feel it necessary to treat other people like this?"
He was asked why he panhandles.
"I have tried getting jobs, but I'm a philosophy major," he said. "When I put out a cardboard sign, I don't say I'm hungry if I'm not hungry."
According to members of a vagrant watch group who were in attendance, there's proof that most of the panhandlers are not homeless, but mere con artists with homes and vehicles who prey on tourists.
“They park and come downtown and tell you how homeless they are, how starving they are and, yet, I go into McDonald’s on Friday with my grandchild to get a Happy Meal and they’re lined up on laptops more expensive than mine," St. Augustine resident Patty McAnnally said. "Now seriously, you’re that poor and you got a $1,000 laptop?”
Four police officers testified under oath that panhandlers impede traffic, harass people coming out of hotels and have even been known to leave drug paraphernalia -- such as needles -- in places where children can get their hands on them.
The next hearing is scheduled for March 26. That's when a final vote will be made.
Homeless ask where to go?
If the proposal is adopted, the homeless are asking, where will they be forced to go?
"It's just going to make things worse, not better," said Donovan Dean, who has been homeless in St. Augustine for the last two years. "They need to help us, not hurt us."
Ahead of Monday's vote, Dean told News4Jax that, for him, panhandling is the only way to make money -- something he wishes he could change.
"I'm not a bum," he said. "I just got kicked out of my place because of the storm and, now, here I am out on the street. But getting back from where I'm at is nearly impossible."
With panhandling Dean's only source of income, he said that he's worried what the proposed city ordinance would do, saying business owners mischaracterize what he and many others like him are doing.
"A lot of them think that we're taking money out of their pockets. But we fly a sign and, if they walk up and they give us some money, that's their own prerogative," he said. "We don't ask people. We don't chase them down."
Businesses say panhandlers run off customers
But the concern is that others do just that. Business owners said aggressive panhandlers are running customers off.
"It's very annoying," Amy Webb, manager of Old City Souvenirs, said Friday.
She said the increase in aggressive panhandling has already hurt business.
"As you can see, we've got all kinds of school groups out here, walking around," Webb said. "The last thing we need to do is see a bunch of homeless people passed out from drinking or drugs laying on the sidewalk as they're walking down through a city, you know, that's historical and we are all trying to save."