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Homeless 'safe zone' shuffle continues
BY TIMOTHY O'HARA
keysnews.com
KEY WEST -- The Bridle
Path across from Smathers Beach could become home to the island's
homeless population under a plan to be considered by the city commission
Tuesday.
The small, funky city
has grappled for years over how to deal the with the steadily rising
homeless population. Dozens of new transients flock to the island each
winter, escaping frigid northern weather.
City and Monroe County
officials hope to have a "Safe Zone," a small tent city, built near the
jail on Stock Island by the end of the year. Until then, city officials
are proposing the creation of a temporary safe zone along the Bridle
Path. The 1,056-foot camp would be located a half-mile east of the Key
West by the Sea condominiums.
City commissioners
will discuss the temporary safe zone, along with a proposal by City
Manager Julio Avael to fingerprint and photograph homeless people
sleeping on city streets and at parks. Those refusing to move on would
be arrested for trespassing.
Avael signed an
executive order instructing police officers to follow his plan last
month, without bringing it before the city commission. Several city
commissioners have since said they are not in favor of taking
fingerprints and photographs of people who have not been charged with a
crime. Avael was advised by attorneys to discuss the plan with
commissioners.
Avael's executive
order is a response to concerns that the nightly gathering of homeless
people in the city's Mallory Square waterfront park is reaching a crisis
situation.
A court case that
originated in Miami has tied the city's hands in removing homeless
people from city streets and parks, unless they have an alternative
place to offer them, like a shelter, city officials say.
Avael's alternative,
until an official safe zone is created, was to be city-owned,
mangrove-fringed wetlands. But local environmentalists flooded
commissioners and city officials with angry e-mails and phone calls
about the plan's negative effects on the wetlands and he instead is
proposing the Bridle Path.
City Salt Pond liaison
Joan Borel and Caroline Cash, president of the Guardians of the Salt
Ponds, said the Bridle Path should not be used as a homeless camp.
"There are better
places to put the homeless," Borel said. "It's more preferable than
letting them live in the wetlands, but it's not something we're happy
about. They should find a building to put the homeless in. The ferry
terminal is not being used."
The path abuts
sensitive wetlands, which could become a giant trash can and bathrooms
for transients, Borel and Cash said. They would like to see the city use
a section of open space at the corner of U.S. 1 and College Road that
once housed several county buildings. They also recommended using city
property at Truman Annex.
Also on Tuesday:
* The commission will
vote on increasing cruise ship embarkment/disembarkment fees by $2.63.
Cruise ship companies currently pay $8 per person each time passengers
get off and on the ship while parked at a city-run pier.
* The commission will
discuss opening up the cemetery to commercial tourism companies.
* The commission will
set a hearing date for eight T-shirt shop owners accused of violating a
city ordinance. The owners were found in violation of the city's custom
apparel wearing ordinance and the city manager ordered their licenses to
be suspended for 10 days. |
