[Music] [Applause] [Applause] [Music] o [Music] [Applause] [Music] o [Music] [Applause] [Music] oh [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] yeah [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] yeah as part of the American City's climate challenge we partnered with ou and the science center to bring the Orlando tiny Greenhouse today visitors have an opportunity to engage in a lot of cool interactive features that'll be guiding them on how to save money and reduce their environmental impact even though this technology has evolved not everybody can for Ev or solar right now so there's a lot of other um great highlights of lowc cost and no cost opportunities to save residents money that you'll learn about uh when you visit the home and the greenhouse is on Wheels so we're going to be able to take around the community and have people enjoy it and learn from it in various different um areas of our [Music] community trailing thoughts from bumby [Music] path this is such a friendly neighborhood because people have been aggressively waving at me a lot today what is that sound I keep hearing behind me oh I'm dragging a child's kite how long have I been dragging that for and why didn't any of these nice people tell me [Music] [Music] this song hits f for me you see a lot of violence outside and you get used to it after a while for the past four weeks uh we have been teaching the kids about telling their own story you know they listen to music all the time and they don't recognize that a lot of these artists and stuff like that are they're really just telling their own story through lyrical pieces our goal each and every day is to get every single young king to tap into his ability and his his voice to constantly allow them to you know feel more comfortable even in those spaces that might not be as safe but to be brave and to speak up for those things that they know they need to vocalize so I really want them to um find their internal value find things that they're passionate about um through this program and that's what MBK is all about is we come together and we're trying to just help coach them along through their processes to make sure that Partnerships like this and others that they'll be safe enough to be able to say oh I can do something that I've never done before what do you know about dog walker watch um I think it's a great program where dog walkers like me who are out and about in their neighborhood every day um they're the eyes and ears of the neighborhood providing extra set of eyes to the police um if you see something say something it absolutely makes a difference because um it will weed out the crime because they know that we're saying hello and greeting and we've made eye contact and that I see you uh it's easy you know you're going to walk your dog anyway um you're going to say hello to your neighbors anyway um you're going to be walking through on a daily basis so it's just important to to contribute back to your community [Music] [Music] good afternoon and welcome to the January 8 2024 meeting of the Orlando city council we're going to begin today's proceedings with the invocation and the Pledge of Allegiance offered and then led by commissioner Hill commissioner Hill thank you uh mayor if we can bow our heads in prayer heavenly father as We Gather here today I want to start by reminding us all of Dr King's powerful words the time is always right to do what is right in these times of uncertainty and change both here in Orlando the United States and I say across the world let this Timeless truth guide us dear Lord we also pray for wisdom to uphold the values of equity and inclusion that Dr King championed grant us the courage to confront Injustice and the strength to affect positive change in our community please help us to see beyond our differences and Find Unity in our shared Humanity Lord we seek your guidance in fostering a world where each person is judged not by superficial labels but God is Dr King Dream by the continent of our character a world where every voice is heard every dream is given a chance to flourish oh Father in the spirit of Dr King enduring Legacy let us remember his call to action life most persistent and Urgent question is what are you doing for others this question Echoes through the decades urging us all to look Beyond ourselves and to serve our community with love and Humanity let us all Ponder what are we doing for others and for a moment let us reflect on who we understand to be the other and find community in all our beautiful differences God we ask that you give us the resolution to be beacons of Hope and a Force for good in a world that often feels divided Darkness cannot drive out Darkness only light can do that as Dr King eloquently stated hate cannot drive out hate only love can do that let us be that light let our light and love shine brightly here in the city of Orlando and in every corner of the world Lord inspires to walk in Dr King's footstep to fight for what is just to speak for those who have been silence to stand firm in the face of adversity let us not be swayed by The Winds of complacency or the storms of division but let us move forward with unwavering resolve unshakable faith in our mission as a city the ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in the moments of comfort Inc convenience but where he stands at the times of Challenge and controversy so dear Lord we ask you to stand with us today as we make decisions that will impact others we ask us to stand together in unity in your dear Lord name Jesus name [Music] amen the United States of America the for it stands one nation indivisible with liy and justice for all okay Madame clerk let's call the meeting to order would you call the RO and make a determination of a quorum please commissioner gray here commissioner Ortiz here commissioner Stewart here Commission Shan here commissioner Hill here commissioner Burns here mayor Dyer here mayor you have a quum with all members present thank you madam clerk so first item business is the agenda review and city council meeting minutes of December 11 move 2023 motion by commissioner Stewart second by commissioner Hill all in favor indicate so by saying I I those opposed and so the motion carries okay Awards presentations and recognition we have one um and this afternoon um I want to start out by acknowledging the work of our Dr Martin Luther King junor commission that started already this week although they've been working for about I'd say 11 months on the two weeks that we're going to have uh over the course of the next several days last night we had our vigil and March to fth meth Methodist Church for the interfaith Multicultural service um which was well attended and um on time exactly about 40 minutes the bishop kept his remarks uh very on point but very timely as well and um I think that was extremely well done so um if you want more information there are a lot of events but you can go to orlando. um and I do have a proclamation um or resolution that I want to read but I want to ask Marcia to be a little more descriptive than I've been thank you mayor good afternoon mayor City commissioners uh members of our Dr Martin Luther King Jr commission also our MLK commission sponsors some of them are here and partners and of course colleagues and everyone who is here today in the chamber as well as those that are watching remotely today mayor Dyer and our city council would like to thank and acknowledge the mayor's Dr Martin Luther King Jr commission all of its members for their dedicated service and hard work to recognize the legacy of Dr King and its value continuous value in our city most of our 2024 MLK commission members um which uh I think am I supposed to press a button Ed uh which we have a roster of uh those members that we'd like to share with everyone thank you Ed um so that everyone knows who is serving on the commission it's a robust group group of city leaders that are actively involved as mayor Dyer said most of the year and um we have most of them here in the chamber and I'd like to ask them along with our city staff that helps to facilitate the Dr King commission's activities um I'd like to thank them first of all for their service and commitment to our city uh and also ask you to stand for a moment to be recognized as your names are on the screen including our St [Music] each member of the mayor's MLK commission uh led by our chair Brandy Han is committed to the commission's mission which our city believes in and our city tries to live by uh to and we try to aspire to live by this every day which is to Champion Dr King's Legacy of service equality justice peace respect and inclusion for all as Dr King once said and I think commissioner Hill just also quoted Injustice anywhere is a threat to Justice everywhere uh our special thanks to our M commission's outstanding sponsors as I mentioned many of them are here as well today and many of them serve on the commission we appreciate their commitment to making the MLK commission's Mission and purpose a reality uh in their companies and also throughout our city and to our M Partners who are helping to produce many of the events uh join us they join us in presenting community events to commemorate Dr King's holiday uh which will be on January 15th next Monday we appreciate your commitment as well I hope that you will thank each of our partners and I think I need to share who our sponsors are there they are our outstanding sponsors if you would uh see the screens in in up front you'll see that we have a variety of outstanding SP sponsors and again many of them are represented on the commission and uh would all of our MLK commission sponsors and partners please stand to be recognized and this is this is our sponsor list thank you I'd also like to thank uh the city staff I mentioned them who have worked with me in various capacities to support the ml commission this year and these are staff members in the offices of Community Affairs Multicultural Affairs and communication and neighborhood relations so thank you City team for your hard work and dedication and finally on behalf of the mayor and his MLK commission I invite all of our residents and friends to join us for a series of activities mayor Dyer mentioned the first the kickoff which began last night and I thank all our commissioners that were able to join us for that and um also while I'm mentioning Commissioners and the mayor I'd like to congratulate you all on your term and your being sworn in this morning it was a beautiful Ceremony this morning for mayor Dyer commissioner Shen commissioner Ortiz and commissioner burn so congrat ulations to you all and at this time um mayor Dyer mentioned the website so if you don't have it please note it's MLK orlando.com you can get all the updates on the events that are coming up there and Brandy our commission chair would like to briefly highlight a few events and also share a couple words before we have the proclamation read and we would like to have our MLK Commission come up with mayor dyer for a picture with the proclamation and then we would like to have our sponsors join us for that Brandy thank you Marcia welcome good afternoon mayor City Council Members um welcome back again mayor commissioner Ortiz commissioner Sheen and commissioner Burns uh and thank you for your important service to our community last night at the interface service we heard a call to action in addition to the one that commissioner Hill gave us for each one of us to act in ways that move us toward Dr TR King's dream of a Beloved Community in his Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech Dr King said I have the audacity to believe that people everywhere can have three meals a day for their bodies education and culture for their minds and dignity equality freedom for their Spirits I'm here today to issue a call to action as well I would to spe specifically invite and each one of you everybody in this room and everybody who's watching to two of our specific events because they are related to what I just read this year for our annual great day of service on ML Day January 15th we are honored to participate in the US hunger million meal pack yes we're going to pack 1 million meals for families right here in in Central Florida we need 3 to 5,000 volunteers to help us mayor I know you and commissioner Stewart have already signed up for your shifts and I believe others have as well if not it's not too late we need everyone's help to meet our audacious udacious goal February 2nd is our annual MLK concert produced and directed by Dr Jeffrey reading it will be at the incredible Stein Mets Hall the admission for this extraordinary concert featuring a community choir of over 400 voices non perishable food or cash donations for United against poverty talk about food culture and diversity converging on our community mark your calendars Friday February 2nd 7 p.m. bring food mayor I understand you have a proclamation thank you Brandon thank you for all the work that the commission does so I do have a proclamation um that I would like to read part of whereas January 15th marks the 38th anniversary of the national holiday honoring the birthday of Dr Martin Luther King Jr one of America's most Visionary leaders who led civil rights activism in our nation through nonviolent means and whereas since 1986 the Orlando mayor's MLK commission and appointed citizen Advisory board has worked to promote Dr King's Legacy of service equality justice peace respect and inclusion for all all and whereas 2024 marks the 25th anniversary of the Orlando mayor's MLK youth humanitarian program which has recognized more than a thousand outstanding students selected by their schools because they exemplify Dr King's ideals and whereas the city of Orlando celebrates and promotes Dr King's incredible historic Legacy we thank our sponsors and encourage residents to participate in MLK holiday activities and programs sharing in our efforts to make Orlando more welcoming inclusive and Equitable Community now therefore we buddy dire mayor of the city of Orlando and the entire Orlando city council hereby do Proclaim January 7th through the 15 2024 as Dr Martin Luther King Jr holiday week in the city of Orlando want up here y [Applause] s of [Music] [Applause] have a green badge you take it [Music] off [Applause] [Music] than for okay moving on from the updates we will go well moving on from the presentations we'll go right to the mayor's update and it was mentioned by Brandy that we had our swearing in uh earlier this morning so today is day one of new four-year terms for me for commissioner Ortiz for commissioner Sheen and for commissioner Burns thank you each for your remarks I look forward to serving with you along with commissioner gray commissioner Stewart and commissioner Hill at least for the next two years and then two more after that maybe um but it's uh I think a I keep getting asked what's going to happen after I'm done in 4 years just like you're supposed to be asking what we're going to do for the next four years so I kind of feel a um an urgency to get things that are left undone done in the next four years so we're going to have some fun the next few years okay um tomorrow is law enforcement appreciation day and we all recognize and our communities recognize that our OPD officers risk her lives every single day to keep us safe and six months ago I guess we had two of our officers that were shot in the line of duty they're both doing well now but it could have been a more precarious outcome and we need to be mindful of that that every day and thankful for their courage and commitment and also tomorrow January 9th marched 7 years since we lost one of our heroes OPD Lieutenant Deborah Clayton she was dedicated not only as a police officer but in many ways to making our community a better place and although time has passed her work is uh certainly missed and but also remembered uh over the weekend we had a temporary Art Exhibit called prismatica that was installed at the at Lake lern and Orange Avenue so kind of the corner entrance to downtown there's um 10 panels I think between those two and then another five panels in the lot where we have the mural on South Orange they're pretty cool lots of people coming to take pictures so I encourage you to take a look at that and that will be on display through February 11th which means they will be here through the marathon and then one item of note on um the agenda today ordinance number one um which relates to affordable housing which we know we have a crisis in housing right now so today we'll vote on an amendment to Our Land Development code that'll allow an increase in production of a affordable housing units in the City by enhancing the availability of density and intensity bonuses for low very low income housing developments with that we will move on to the consent agenda which is a number of items work to um acted upon through a single vote of council we give our council members an opportunity to comment on items on the consent agenda as well as important happenings from their District we rotate the order that we do that commissioner Hill was first up today thank you mayor d uh good afternoon everyone and congratulations um mayor on yet another term along with uh commissioner Ortiz commissioner shean commissioner Burns it's just been an honor to work with you all and gleam from you I must admit May every time you say you last term it I get a pit in my stomach um maybe we might con convince you one more um but nevertheless thank you for your leadership and uh this community has been transformed because you came and all of you all uh okay on the consent agenda I'm pleased to see uh on number three um something that is very essential and I'm glad to see coming back downtown Orlando and that is the new Social Security Administration office that's coming back downtown Orlando uh many years ago it was there in Paramore on um Huey in Washington and it really caused U um those that needed access to go away to Gatlin and catch three or four buses and be seniors uh some type of hardship so to see it coming back downtown and directly across from link is going to create better access for those very important services that they offer um also um May under your leadership probably in 2006 when you created the Paramore Kids Zone and put the children's trust together how we've seen uh those children in the Paramore area and their fam's lives and improved because of that and the see nearly 2.4 m ion dollar now being allocated not only to Paramore kids zone or Mercy Drive kids zone or Inglewood and Holden Heights which is uh now uh spread the footprint uh giving Child Care New Image youth center and pth our Early Learning Coalition our uh page 15 that helped youth learn to read and write uh it's just tremendous of the funds and that's when we start talking about mortha Luther King excess and equity and education and social uh programs I think this city under this counsil and especially mared IR leadership with division he had has really given a uh these kids uh a lot of Hope and access when things were somewhat hopeless and then another $3.3 million um that's been set aside for uh variety of services from substance abuse to Mental Health um to scholarships for our youth in those uh inner city uh cores of the city that makes almost today uh $5.7 million going towards uh making sure that our future is bright in our in inner cities through our youth services through family parks and Wrecking Thank you Lisa for the team that you've put together uh to help mayor Dar and this Council and this city when it comes to our youth um also I'm excited to see uh Orin and his team uh put one uh $187,000 worth the cdb G funding to go to Rebuilding Together organization we're quite familiar with that we did a roofing program um to help with the rehab program uh here in the city of Orlando for very lowincome homeowners um when we start talking about affordable housing but preventing um these homeowners from becoming homeless and helping them reduce um their maintenance costs and um have healthy and safe and livable conditions is is much needed hopefully we can see uh continue to see more funding goes toward uh low-income homeowners with uh rehab projects another um yes for me on the agenda something that I haven't heard of and so I love the city uh because of their Forward Thinking is uh OPD funding and uh award going to create a victim Advocate uh officer for those that have been impacted um with the opio epidemic fit and all peret and all those things that have lost family members are falling victim to overdoses to investigate those crimes because it is a crime and a set aside way to give people these deadly substances um and that person was important to someone and so to see that added on to the force uh specially investigators quite creative and much needed uh not only only Orlando but throughout the nation with this opio epidemic and I was reading somewhere in another city and state that they have already had in the last 6 months over 500 deaths from opioid uh overdoses um on Tuesday some of the things I've done since last Council um I worked over in Rock Lake Neighborhood Center um with uh Mrs Alandra Hector uh which leis and her team has now appointed that the center uh manager which is a great great story commissioner Ortiz she was a kid that grew up in the Englewood she's 18 years old grew up in the inle woods uh neighborhood 5 years old at the Englewood Center came up as a junior counselor over there and has spent and interning uh creating that Gap we had as a didn't have a city manager at Rock Lake and she has singlehandedly transformed That Rock lake neighborhood center alone going out getting Partners getting grants on her own just doing a phenomenal job and that just States um she supervises almost 15 staff members but how these City Recreation programs really raise up the next leaders in growing from those centers now being a center manager I'm just just outstanding young lady and it's done an amazing job um also uh we had a neighborhood uh meeting with the Harrison estate Community which I call Mayor Dy and Council the Last Frontier of District 5 uh we have really revitalized District 5 under mared dire's leadership and this Council support uh tremendously over I know the last 10 years where District 5 is one of the outside of Lake Nona and uh thoron Park I'll get in trouble if I start naming names but it's one of the most Desir one of the most desired districts in the city of Orlando but there was uh a needed attention over in the Harrison Estates which is uh one of our oldest neighborhoods and when it was created it was more created in a rural f fion so mayor d uh in our Public Works and storm water department is now getting ready to uh and with the council's uh approval uh we approved over a multi uh almost 4.5 million um to do infrastructure over there and now uh uh create a safe walkable uh neighborhood and uh work on a storm water uh component over there something that was very impacted within in the neighborhood flooded so to see um U that neighborhood being revised is going to be phenomenal on December the 12th we celebrated a m Stone in District 5 fire station number two which was the heart of Paramore at one time the FR of Paramore and still is uh celebrated a 100 years of being in service so congratul ations to the men and women over at under your leadership by Chief um on 100 years over there still doing a phenomenal job and uh we had a multitude a multitude of um Community outreaches during the Christmas holidays uh over at U Merc Drive Community Center Jackson Center Callahan Center um and of course Rock Lake uh and through those efforts and Partnerships uh I'd like to thank athletic connections the downtown Hospitality Association the beachum group harot Davidson Orlando Orlando Magic uh we were able to give away about 6,000 toys to the youth The District 5 along with about um 600 bikes so every child in District 5 uh should have woken up with something and we didn't make it exclusive um Commissioners whoever came was able to receive something for Christmas so it was a Citywide effort just in District 5 also like to thank EA Sports for their for their contribution also and I think we went over uh with the MLK commission some of the upand cominging things that are going on with MLK and with that and that's all I have mayor thank you commissioner commissioner Burns all right good afternoon thank you mayor uh first I'd like to just uh start by wishing everyone a happy New Year uh and after the taking the oath of office uh this morning I'm looking forward to the next four years of serving along uh side of my colleagues and um uh so I'm really looking forward to the work that lies ahead of us uh over the holidays our office partnered with a few organizations to bring smiles and resources to district 6 I would like to acknowledge Osborne and Francis uh PA St Mark am Church uh commissioner Mike Scott and Cole Anthony of the Orlando Magic for great events that were brought to district 6 um also um this coming Wednesday I have my mobile office hours that will take place at the El Claudia Allen Center from 10:00 a.m. to 4: uh individuals who would like to meet with me and my staff please reach out to us and get get scheduled or you can just walk in we will be there again from 10: to 4:00 uh mayor on the agenda this afternoon I wanted to acknowledge agenda item D1 uh the grant to the central Florida Foundation Legacy trust for Orlando children in the amount of $2.3 million uh congratulations to 4 seed new imic youth Center past Incorporated early uh Learning Coalition of Orange County the Orlando community and youth trust page 15 and the Holden Heights Community Development uh Corporation so thank you to all those groups congratulations on the funding thank you to all of those groups for the fine work that you provide and services you provide to our youth also uh under um housing F2 the cdbg funding for rebuilding uh together Tampa Bay uh for 187,000 as commissioner Hill mentioned uh these are resources that are dedicated to um uh 10 households to bring them up to be in safe healthy and livable uh condition so uh thank you to uh rebuilding Tampa for really kind of taking over some of the uh Orlando operations when they're rebuilding or uh together Orlando organization um ceased operations and that's all I have mayor thank you thank you commissioner than you mayor gray thank you sir very much and congrats to everybody on on the U the next four years look forward to it um a couple events uh community events I wanted to mention this Friday uh the 12th at 10:30 uh there'll be a groundbreaking for the University of Central Florida College of Nursing out of the Lake Nona campus and it's a reminder that this will be as I counted number eight in the U the list of major medical facilities we have in enjoy out in Lake Nona you know we started with neor Hospital uh children's hospital then with the VA Hospital which is the busiest in the entire system with the exception of maybe Walter Reed hospital um the third was the UC UF research facility uh fourth was the guidewell in incubation lab uh fifth was the UCF Cancer Center also the next one UCF medical school and then HCA came in and did a teaching hospital so uh this will be number eight UCF College of Nursing is going to get started so that's 10:30 this Friday and I'm sure everybody's welcome use uh use the mayor's name you can get in um then uh a week from uh Wednesday uh at 6 PM the Orlando economic partnership is having their annual dinner out at UCF and uh that's at 6 PM honoring a gentleman named Tom Cinema who was a big Community leader still is uh was instrumental in lift Orlando and helping with Housing and Community Services is on the west side so that's uh Wednesday the 12th 6 p.m. I'm sure go on the o website and you can sign up for that uh on the agenda real quick I mentioned earlier uh I'm voting no on one item under the historic preservation item C2 item uh 10341 which is a proposed lot split on 603 Hillcrest I'm not a big fan of the applicant don't think he should be doing business here so I'm going to vote no on that one item thank you mayor thank you commissioner commissioner Ortiz thank you mayor let's keep it short happy New Year everybody I hope everybody's having a great new year this seems like it's going to be a year full of excitement you know uh politics and whatnot but anyhow congratulations mayor congratulations um commissioner Hill I mean commissioner Burns and uh commissioner sh um we are tomorrow the legislative session begins in Tallahassee and many people don't think about this but it's very important that we get involved that we know what's going on there's at least three legislations which I'm not going to tell you to vote for it or not not CU we're not allowed to to give any uh tips uh on that one but I please ask you to read about this one is a proposed Constitutional Amendment it's going to be a uh well uh tax relief reduction some sort of reduction uh short-term vacation rentals and local zoning requirements please look at that and talk to your delegation up in Tallahasse to represent represent you stay on top of these issues they do affect us we get preempted in many occasions and if we don't get involved then we can complaint so let's go ahead and make sure that people know how we feel about these things it's very important it's part of democracy it's part of what we want to do right so that's about it I'm hoping that everybody has a great year this year I mean as as I said it's going to be a a year full of politics full of all all kinds of great things and and the City of Orlando always striving so thank you so much mayor that's all I got thank you commissioner commissioner Stewart thank you mayor and thank you Tony for giving me your time I appreciate it I'm going take the next few minutes and talk a little bit about take your time up I won't do that I do want to share a couple of things first uh congratulations uh mayor and and Tony and Patty and parari I it's an honor to work with you and look forward to continuing that thank you very much um couple things that I wanted to share with you about some quick things going on I want to say a special thank you to our Lake Silver OPD for our Super Kids program um we had an opportunity to work with them in Lake Silver and I appreciate that they did a great job over there um the uh YMCA over in the Grove had their first jingle jam run together we had about 250 people that was there there thank you for that that was a great way for us them to raise a little bit of money and give it away uh and I also want to say happy birthday to our own Deborah Gerard she's listening so I'll make sure she gets a special happy birthday from me uh coming up uh this evening is the annual meeting of the College Park Main Street at 5:00 um The College Park neighbor Association has their annual meeting today at 7 o' and of course uh this the MLK parade is coming up this Saturday I hope everybody will get a chance to come be part of that it's a great uh it's a great way to enjoy the community um and on some other issues the gravity room is opening up in uh on North Orange Avenue just in the edge of my district I'm excited about that and Lake Silver Elementary is having their baby gator shower uh so I want everybody to please panel attend on June on January 25th please come and bring a gift for the baby gator I don't understand anything more about that but it's going to be a lot of fun I know that um the Orlando Museum of Arts have their centennial celebration and of course the legislative days are coming up in 29th and the 1st of January we get a chance to go up there and spend some time up there on the agenda today I want to say a special thanks to the Vintage group uh they'll be doing some work over and open up a new place over at the yard and we are proving their business assistance program uh on C9 today and that's all I have mayor thank you very much thank you commissioner and to commissioner sh thank you mayor Dyer and uh I also want to congratulate my colleagues this was a this is kind of a hardfought one for me commissioner Ortiz you got a walk so you're all good but commissioner I mean commissioner Burns mayor Dyer and I had a little bit more rocking roll in our districts but uh you know I just want to say that you know when you take the high road it's a better thing to do so uh thanks everybody for running good positive campaigns and and coming back and and joining us again so that's a great thing um look forward to working with you all the next four years um on the agenda today we do have um item B2 the East Robinson Street improvements um the problem is we're good the good thing is we're doing sewer line improvements the bad news is there going to be lots of road closures so unfortunately construction is never fun it's a major artery in our city but we have got to fix this infrastructure so there is going to be some construction coming on uh on on East Robinson Street also I also um think the um the higher of the substance victim Advocate is a is a great thing um the overdose investigative unit assisting opioid addicts as well as family members who have fallen victim to overdoses a this is a horrible thing in our community and it's great to see that we're putting resources um to to uh to deal with that I also want to um just call out to staff the Lake Yola was absolutely beautiful over the holidays luk Gardens was a wonderful Community event there were folks every night at Lou Gardens I live over there and it was great to see so many many families and folks just enjoying our beautiful gardens and and Lake Yola Park was so busy that we couldn't even you had to leave an hour ahead of time to get there because there was so many people coming to the park Sher gy did an amazing job Quincy and every Richardson and everybody at Lake Yola Park did such a phenomenal job um and it was just everybody loved that Park and and coming there was so great to see so many people really really enjoying it and if anybody doesn't understand how important it is to have events where people can come together you should have been at like because it was just absolutely wonderful from VI electric to all the events to the Showcase of the children it was just magical the whole time um I also like to thank the Orlando Police Department for making an arrest we had a rash of home burges that was targeting retired residents without alarms and no dogs it's somehow these people were casing these neighborhoods so if someone's coming to your door and asking you questions about an alarm they were actually targeting elderly residents with their they had their homes paid off they they they really targeted residents in my district OPD has made an arrest but I just want to caution anyone if someone comes to your door and starts asking you a lot of information that's not for your benefit that's usually for theirs and unfortunately some folks in my district fell victim to this scam um but luckily through the great work of the Orlando Police Department they actually made an arrest already and they're going to make another arrest hopefully soon but again um it's not your lucky day when someone comes knocking on your door asking you a lot of questions there there chances are they're not there to help you so with that mayor I will go ahead and move the consent agenda motion by commissioner Shen second by commissioner Burns all in favor indicate so by saying I I those opposed and so the motion carries okay we don't have any CRA neighborhood improvement district or opep so let's move to hearings ordinances on first reading ordinance number 2023346100 Sheen second by commissioner Hill Madam clerk is there anyone who has requested public testimony no speakers mayor no speakers we'll close the public hearing um all in favor of the motion or discussion all in favor of the motion indicate so by saying I those oppose so the motion carries uh Commissioners this ordinance requires a public hearing after 5:00 unless we vote by super majority to hold the second public hearing at our normal city council meeting time staff recommends that we hold the second second public hearing at a regularly scheduled city council meeting beginning at 2:00 on January the 22nd 2024 is there a motion for such second motion by commissioner Shen second by commissioner Burns discussion hearing none all in favor indicates so by saying I I those opposed and so the motion carries by more than a super majority okay hearings ordinances second reading number one ordinance number 2023 47 and ordinate to the city of Orlando Florida annexing to the corporate limits of the city certain land generally located north of SilverStar Road East of Mercy Drive and south of Shader Road and comprised of 4.88 acres of land more or less in amending the city's boundary description amending the city's adop adopted growth management plan to designate the property as industrial on the city's official future land use maps Des designating the property as industrial General with Kiva overlay District on the city's official zoning Maps providing for Amendment of the city's official future land use and Zoning Maps providing for separability correction scrier error permit disclaimer and an effective date so moved second motion by commissioner Stuart Stewart second by commissioner Shen Madame clerk no speakers mayor discussion hearing none all in favor the motion indicate so by saying I I those opposed and so the motion carries number two Madam clerk coordinates number 2023 d52 an ordinance of the city council of the city of Orlando Florida amending the special Land Development regulations of the Beth Road and development zoning District such land being generally located north of Beth Road East of Vy Creek Road and West of Happy Lane and compris of approximately 3957 acres of land providing for cability correction of scrier error and an effective date move to adop motion by commissioner gray second by commissioner Ortiz Madam clerk no speakers mayor discussion hearing none all in favor of the motion indicate so by saying I I I those oppose motion carries number three ordinance number 2023 53 an ordinance of the city council of the city of Orlando Florida vacating closing and abandoning the northern portion of Lee Avenue generally located south of pedmont Street West of South Paramore Avenue and north of citrus Street as described in the South Orlando plat as recorded in plat book 1012 page 146 of the public records of Orange County Florida and compris of 0.21 acres of land more less providing for the execution of affecting documents severability correction of scribers and an effective date move to adop Second motion by commissioner Burns second by commissioner Hill Madam clerk no speakers mayor no speakers discussion hearing none all in favor the motion indicate so by saying I I those opposed motion carries uh number four ordinance number 20 23-54 an ordinance of the city council of the city of burando Florida amending the city's growth management plan to change the future land use map designation for certain land generally located south of pedmont Street West of South Paramore Avenue North of citrus Street and East of South West Morland Drive comprised of 2.15 acres of land more or less from industrial to residential medium intensity changing the property zoning designation from General industrial with a traditional City overlay District to medium intensity development with the traditional overlay District providing for Amendment of the city's official future land use in zoning Maps providing providing for severability correction scrier error permit disclaimer and an effective date move to adopt second motion by commissioner Burns second by commissioner Hill Madam clerk no speakers mayor no public testimony discussion hearing none all in favor of the motion indicate so by saying I I those opposed motion carries number five ordinance number 2023 55 an ordinance of the city of Orlando Florida relating to disorderly conduct amending chapter 43 section 43.6 of the code of the the city of Orlando Florida prohibiting the intentional blockage of sidewalks providing for severability providing for codification correction of scrier error and an effective de so move second Mo by commissioner Hill second by commissioner Shen okay we do have a number of speakers Chief is Alex here from OPD U Michael Phil will be speaking for good you come up and give us a quick brief intro into this tell us what it does and doesn't do of course Mr Mayor so this ordinance is well the added language to the ordinance creates a specific intent offense that prohibits a person from intentionally blocking public streets or roads uh they that could be by standing lying sitting placing an object uh in a fashion that is intended to block another person's passage or requires that person to take evasive action uh key here is that this language requires that the conduct be intended to achieve that result that it be intended to uh to block passage so unintentional or in or incidentally block unintentionally blocking someone's passage or merely incidentally blocking someone's Passage through through you know standing somewhere or walking up to somebody and asking them a question would not violate this uh this new clause in the ordinance okay I do have one question some people suggested that this is aimed specifically at our homeless population I don't buy that but you want to speak to that uh it is not um if anything it is far more likely to be used in uh situations uh during the busy closing time in downtown Orlando uh as the bars are letting out and closing right okay further questions commissioner Ortiz um years ago and just for the sake of clarifying I read something along the lines and I can quote verum that is and this is this is the federal level is my understanding that if all the shelters are full and somebody decides to camp on sidewalk we couldn't deal with that we could mess with that because there's no space for them you know to to stay or what not that's something I would like for us to do some research however in the case that this is not this was not to happen and there is space on shelters and somebody was camping and blocking a sidewalk um is my understanding that a police officer if came uh if that if a police officer came in contact with somebody like this they will give them a warning and say please you need to move your your camp or whatnot am I correct on that uh essentially yes Mr commissioner the uh what I will say is this ordinance is not intended as a standin for camping we already have a campaign ordinance that that addresses outdoor sleeping and officers that enforce that Ordinance do routinely uh give give warnings they'll go through uh various areas of uh of of the city essentially waking Folks up in the early am hour saying hey can can you move along and those individuals the the camping ordinance really only gets enforced when they're specifically in disa of actual camping stuff like sleeping bags tents things like that and really only when the person is does not vacate after being warned and this ordinance itself uh even before this proposed uh amendment was already already addresses unintentionally uh blocking uh passage and in that context it require enforcement require Ires a warning by by law enforcement so so in intentionally being the keyword here which creates the the intention of course now could you uh could you explain or give us some example about placing an object in such a manner as to intentionally block um give us an example of what that may be just to clarify uh so if someone were to place their own barricades across a a sidewalk or a street without you know appropriate permitting and and and permission uh and then PE you know pedestrians vehicles started to to come to come to to get past that uh that would be an example of intentionally placing an object to uh to block passage thank you sir appreciate it well last question just to clarify so and it is certainly not aimed at 18a contact content which you get a permit and you can actively correct um protest in the city of Orlando it is not aimed towards any permitted contact okay all right thank you hey mayor I did have a commissioner Burns um can you tell me what was the impetus for this amendment to the ordinance was there something that has been routinely happening that is driving us to consider this uh in in certain circumstances particularly during during the uh the those busy hours in downtown Orlando on on Fridays and and Saturdays uh as it currently stands the ordinance um requires that warning and sometimes when someone is doing intentional conduct that that creates a public safety issue we don't necessarily want to have to give them a warning hey stop blocking uh all these these cars if someone is actually in intentionally blocking them if they're just unintentionally we don't want to be leaping to enforcement but when they're in intentionally doing the conduct conduct um it we believe it's safer for for everyone to be able to go ahead and take that enforcement action to make everybody safe so so if if someone is arrested under this uh amended ordinance is there uh any type of d of that's collected to uh describe exactly what was that behavior that uh moved them to be arrested uh when an officer makes an arrest uh they write a an arrest affidavit which describes the the factual circumstances of arrest and has to in which they articulate probable cause uh for for making the arrest and of course also um all of our officers are equipped with body cameras so the body camera recordings should also be recording what occurred so also when um so if there's someone laying down on the streets or sleeping on the streets are you saying that our current camping or non- camping ordinance uh addresses that and this is not something that will be used to address those situations the the camping ordinance is what's intended to address that contact uh conduct not this ordinance okay so so so the the camping ordinance addresses laying down or sleeping on the it it IT addresses uh sleeping out ofd doors on on public property okay and this disorderly uh this new amended disorderly ordinance would not be used to address that it should not be it should not be no all right thank you commissioner Hill I want to clarify because it should be used we should have all twos to be able no matter where enforce the law no matter if they're sleeping on sidewalks if people have a tents on sidewalks and a obstructing pedestrian thoroughfare if they're downtown Orlando and the sidewalks are covered and they need to move it along they need that law needs to be enforced it should not specify no we we're just going to use the encampment for this one and we're not going to no if you're breaking the law you're breaking the law rather if you are a multi-millionaire or you're homeless we all have to follow the law so I just want to make sure commissioner and and legal that this uh uh uh uh Amendment will be enforced throughout no matter who you are I think what he's saying is that there's already a camping there is but he said this shouldn't be used all laws should be used regardless where to clarify I did not because if we're going to use the tent law we could have been used that we could have been used that but this law should be applied also if we have encampments and people are land on the sidewalks if they have tents on the sidewalks if they have buggies on the sidewalks or if they're just congregating and need to be moved Along on a Friday Saturday night it does not matter if this law is going to be enforced downtown where this is obstruction it needs to be applied the same way on the west side when there's obstruction of sidewalks so I just want to make Year all right Mr sh well and in the way that I understood this because I mean I've experienced this conduct too especially when I'm weling back you know usually I park at City Hall and I'll go out downtown and I'll usually go to you know events at dad downtown arts district and the problem is is that everybody outside the bars is congregating outside the bars blocking all the sidewalks and if you try to walk by they call you names they they I've been challenged I mean and and you know anybody who says well you shouldn't feel afraid well you know what if I'm a City Commissioner and I'm feeling for my safety you must feel really good in your male privilege because I shouldn't have to be afraid to walk in my own City okay so this is designed to stop that kind of you know somebody challenging you just because you want to walk back to your car at night and I I I actually have witnessed a lot of that kind of conduct when I'm in downtown late at night that people will challenge you if you just try to walk by them and that's not cool so I I do think police do need a little bit more um clarification on that because there are some folks that get a little cocktailed and get a little nasty when you just trying to walk by them so I think this is important because it's it's a it's it's a impediment and I think that women should be able to walk safely in downtown at night that's that so that's kind of where I'm coming from in supporting this and I know this has been talked about in a whole different way than what it's what has been intended but I've actually shared with this Council how I've had you know situations where I've tried to walk back to City Hall after I go to an event and I've been challenged when I just try to walk on a sidewalk so that's why I'm I think this is important to do and that's a clarification that's this has gotten nothing this has been this has again been turned into something else other than what it is thanks mayor commiss Ortiz mayor I I just want to clarify for the benefit of those who are listening that the key word intentionally uh is is very important um I don't want people to than that because I know there's been all kinds of rumors this we created this law to go after people that are not that are uh homeless what not no that that that's definitely not the intent there's some other issues that are happening with people that are aggressive that had nothing to do with the homeless uh and somebody there homeless asking for money uh whatever the case may be it's not going to be intentionally you know for the most part the experience I had had and I work in law enforcement for 14 years and I'll tell you what we used to do in the morning it's 5:00 in the morning we used to go downtown bikes we used to go and and wake up those who were sleeping on the bridges and stuff like that and they know was by name and we knew them by name and it was that kind of relationship and uh because they would have to go to work or whatever the case may be to the so um I know there's a lot of people thinking that this is going after the people that are homeless and this is not the case so please understand that that's all I want to thank you Comm mortiz commissioner Hill yeah I I want to say this mayor as a person that lives in the west side and have to deal with this on the daily um no we're not targeting anyone but I do think there's homeowners and residents that need some type of assurance that when we have people that are are continuously sleeping on these benches in front of your house or on the sidewalks and we feel unsafe so much so I have not mentioned this but I dare since we have people here today to 3 weeks ago the same person sleeping outside of my house watching me and my grandson come in every day and every night ends up in the middle of my living room at 5:00 in the morning with the knife but we didn't have any tools to move them along and I thank God that I woke up and found him in my living room and OPD came out with the dogs and found them so our lives are in danger even a commissioner that was almost being Target but they're laying there on the sidewalks every day we can't do anything and now I'm afraid to sleep at night because someone in the middle of my front room or could have killed me and my grandson if I had woke up so this is serious and we do need some tools to move people along so so they can't Target people day in and day out and know their behaviors that's all I got to say mayor thank you commissioner okay thank you all right I do have an excess of 20 um requests to comment on this item and I would ask you to keep your comments Germain to this particular ordinance so this ordinance does not have anything to do with the conflict in the Middle East so we don't need comments related to that we need comments on this disorderly conduct um ordinance and then also this is not aimed at protest activity that's covered under 18a um so that's fairly clear for you okay um you'll get three minutes I'm going to call your name I'm going to call three in a row so you're ready to go so the first three come up give your name your address and then you'll have three minutes to comment Samantha Samantha orasa jlane Lopez and Samuel Delgado hello my name is Samantha vraska I'm a constituent of District 2 and would prefer not to give my address I'm here today in opposition to ordinance 2023 55 uh in response to your comments it is exceedingly difficult to prove or disprove intent uh and likewise as the police officers may not know the intent of the unhoused people uh we don't know the intent behind your ordinance and what we are concerned with is the impact and the potential for misuse due to the vague language uh the vague language leaves room for interpretation that has the potential to be used for harm and also if the concern is aggressive or violent Behavior which I understand that it that can be scary as a woman um why does the bill not not or pardon me the ordinance not address aggressive behaviors with that language why is it walking laying standing or sitting that's the listed behaviors uh that's what I don't understand uh additionally I think that going to these punitive measures uh without having adequate first uh option resources for the unhoused and I know that y'all are working on that but currently uh there are not adequate resources and we see that there are a lot of unhoused people that aren't having their needs met so why instead of uh first having these first order options for the unhoused people are we jumping straight to uh I believe it was up to 60 days in jail is that correct right so additionally uh the officers here in Orlando over the past two decades have had the second highest rate of uh fatal police shootings out of every city in the country so maybe it could be harmful to open up this vague vague language uh to be potentially misused against people who are already some of the most vulnerable in our community um it seems to me that the city of Orlando isn't treating our hun house community members as neighbors as community members uh but rather looking at them as people who don't deserve the same access to care the same access to resources as the rest of us thank you for listening uh I am urging you to vote no on ordinance 20 2355 thank you is Lane Lopez Samuel Delgado Martha R hello everybody my name is husin Lopez you might want to just pull that mic down a little bit okay hello hi everybody um hello good afternoon City Council Members my name is j Lopez ITA resident of district 6 um Times Square a the ordinance is detriment to the people of Orlando we are set to have the right under this country to peacefully assembled yet it's the language used on this ordinance it's trending alongside with our unhoused neighbors with the vague language being used according to the homeless service network of Central Florida homelessness has risen over 75% since the pandemic with 38% of that being as early as 2023 this should be observed in Tandon with the skyrocketing rent increases that are also being discussed in this city council meeting with Florida seeing a 45% increase in rent cost by March of last year many Central Floridians have resorted with living with multiple roommates or moving back with families those are the lucky ones people end up in the streets after the shelters have inedibly reached capacities as we have discussed as well too we have seen families separated from children's or spouses due to the gross restrictions plays on some of these shelters too further in fracturing the little support of the networks have left these are your constituents that will now be left to survive on the streets where this ordinance will leave them even more vulnerable to even more financial and physical harassment under this ordinance the harassment will be government funded and enforced Florida ranks in the top 5% states with the highest incarceration rates in the United States this ordinance will only contribute to the statistics by increasing unnecessary interactions with the police studies shows that formally incarcerated people are 10 times more likely to end up on house which will in turn exasperate the very issue of this ordinance claims to be attempting to fix it is very easy to distance oneself from the reality of the situation also as a women I understand the concerns being brought up by U Miss pin but we are your constituents and we are your neighbors what passing this ordinance would show is a bipartisan lack of compassion commitment to address some of the root problems and the people are coming up to speak today the people serving and organizing from the struggling communities we will not forget so I implore you to please call to the end to ordinance 2023 thank you so much City councils Samuel Delgado Martha R Robert Quinones good afternoon commission and uh mayor Dyer my name is Samuel dogado I live at 605 East Concord Street that's in um commissioner xen's District uh I'm here today to talk about this ordinance and ask you all to vote against it um the language that is uh contained in uh the written uh ordinance it's extremely vague right we had the speaker up here providing all clarifying information about uh how it should be used and and I heard a lot of the word should and could right and so y'all's intention in how this ordinance is enforced um is is really important in the passage of this language right but you won't be there when it's being imposed right so when someone is writing the citations and when someone's writing the police report of how they use um this new found power to provide uh or to charge someone with disorderly conduct you you're not going to be there to say oh this is actually how I meant for it to be uh to be used and so you know the First Amendment implications uh that are there in the language because of how difficult intent is to prove you know that doesn't happen until someone's already in court you can't prove oh it was I was intentionally or unintentionally blocking the sidewalk um also the State of Florida already has disorder conduct and loitering charges in the state statutes uh that the police could use today um one of the things that really brought so many uh people in community uh to notice the potential harms uh in the language that's in this ordinance is uh a quote from the representative of the Orlando PD when they were interviewed by uh WFTV was saying that the new ordinance goes for anyone whether for solicitation of donations distribut uh distribution of materials marketing sign colle signature collections expression of viewpoints threatening to fight or any other purpose anywhere in the city and so these These are how the people who will be enforcing this ordinance are talking about it uh to the news and so it's not coming from nowhere and the possibility of its abuse is what is so so concerning because you know mayor Dyer this is your last term and you were talking about how you're excited to leave a good Legacy but you know you won't be there um and you know when this is codified and it's there 10 years down the line it it only takes one uh mistake from a police officer to ruin someone's life um thank you thank you Martha commiss Ortiz thank you mayor I I really appreciate the comments I'm hearing because um I didn't see the the report on TV I would like to see that report because uh to me you know I'm reading the ordinance is is pretty specific but I also understand where you guys are coming from he says intentionally blocking passage uh the other thing I wanted to ask the attorney because this is a misdemeanor so if this was going to happen it has to occur in the presence of the police officer am I correct yes Mr commissioner this is not a this does not fall under any exemption to the general requirement that a misdemeanor arrest if for an arrest to be made the misdemeanor has to be committed in the presence in the presence of a police officer so he can determine the intention when he comes with the person if the person is really wanting to block or not blocking and as we said before and unless you just don't have any kind of faith in our Police Department which is something we we're trying but uh I believe I believe a police officer not there not and I'm not saying that every police officer is perfect but I will tell you from from my working with the police department we have good police officers that would have to would endure a great deal of trouble if they were to abuse something like this once again I'm trying to explain so you guys understand the the nature of this ordinance um thank you I appreciate that thank you mayor artha R Robert Quinones Alicia sastry good afternoon Martha R homeless Services Network in Central Florida Commission on homelessness and I'm 142 East Jackson Street we know that this Administration is keenly aware that no Community can arrest their way out of homelessness and you now have a national reputation for engaging in effective Solutions regardless of how challenging those Solutions are especially knowing that an ordinance on the books will Outlast the intent of the council that passes it we ask that the city review the ordinance with a careful lens and explore ways to ensure protection from unintended consequences including risks to people who have increasingly limited options for where to lay their heads thank you mayor can I can I ask mark question uh commissioner Martha when you say add some language or I guess massage the Ordinance do you have any suggestions on what could uh possibly be added to the ordinance that would give that layer of protection that you that you speak about you know I I don't know I I'm hearing that some of the concerns are about how people engage um I think engagement activities are easier to describe than intent um but what I what I do here is that there is a lack of consistency about how people are interpreting this ordinance and so that to me uh says that there's need for some clarification somehow in this and we'd be glad to try and talk through what you know what some different language might mean or or might look like um but it's you know it's concerning that there's not the honed in this is what it what it means and how it will be used Etc because then it it seems like it will open the door for some um again for some unintended consequences that might not be what this Council has envisioned yeah and and I think it needs to be be made clear that um the ordinance specifically states that after the individual or group is asked to move and uh move out of the way or or stop blocking the uh the sidewalk or whatever being blocked is that's when the officer then has the uh ability to then arrest store or do anything else so it's not like they could just see someone the ordinance does not state that they could just see someone uh laying on the streets and just move strictly to arresting or some type of punitive damage it does say that um after after being ordered to Mo be moved after being ordered to move by law enforcement officers so I think that that everyone who's looking at this needs to be clear that this will happen after a an attempt to have the individual move from blocking or impairing the uh walkway so I just want to make sure everyone had that was clear on that commissioner [Music] Hill thank you uh mayor um Martha wouldn't you say that we have met for a year with code enforcement what law enfor ment with other community stakeholders addressing some of the safety issues even downtown and over in the Paramore area in the west side of Orlando uh uh along with addressing creating more uh head spaces especially at night during the day helping with Day Day Center so this city is a sympathetic and has empathy for those experiencing homelessness and that's the young lady stay we as a community are collaborating to try to uh get to expected outcome for those that are are are impacted but you as a leader here in the homeless service network know that something has to be done because it is some safety issues not trying to criminalize and we know we can't already but you have walked those streets with me and law enforcement and saw how we have had to go and walk in the middle of the road because the sidewalks have been obstructed by those that won't move it along there's some great people out there that we're trying to help that does comply to the law but there are some folks if you must admit that refuses to assist us with helping them or are uh uh responding to code enforcement and law enforcement in a positive manner when they're trying to work with them uh for the last year yourself myself have worked with OPD and they have been very empathetic and have not arrested those that aren't breaking the law that happen to be experiencing homelessness they have gone out and tried to give information so the reason I'm saying that is that I have faith in our law enforcement agency I have faith in our chief that they're not going to go out and victimize people that already been victimized by Society they only want to assist them with complying and creating a safe thoroughfare for all citizens to walk by and and I just would like for you to tell some of the folks that really believe in your mission that you have worked with law enforcement and you and I don't believe and I'm certain you don't believe cuz you work hand that they're not going to go out there and just see someone already suffering and have nowhere to sleep and just automatically just remove them from the sidewalk to to straight to jail only if they have conduct issues and are creating um uh um some that some that's detrimental to the safety of others I I support everything you said and I agree we have had some really helpful kind we've been doing some good work over the last year and that's included code enforcement and law enforcement and you know all of those teams um again you know the the central point of my comment is that this ordinance will Outlast you know would likely Outlast this Council and so if there are enough folks who feel like the wording is vague enough to where it could be used in a way that is not your intent then I just want to encourage you to look at that wording again and this may be as good as it gets I'm just asking that we look at the wording again and see if we can narrow it down because absolutely nobody needs to be harassed the way sometimes folks get harassed I'm not you know I I support that absolutely our sidewalks need to be safe I'm just asking for another look to see if there's a way to it's always time to amend it but I think today we need to pass this uh uh ordinance because as you know something has to be done Comm Ortiz I'm sorry I'm sure I keep coming back but this is very interesting so I appreciate it um I think I found the glitch here I think U and if you allow me some leeway here say a person who walks stand sits lies or places an object in such manner as to intentionally block passage by another person we're good so far that's pretty clear pretty concise but then he says or to require another person to take evasive action to avoid physical contact that is ambigu that is ambiguous excuse me that that's ambiguous because maybe it was not intentional that particular segment there maybe so I think we need to to clarify or to change that particular segment as of or rather see that uh such a manner as to intentionally block requiring another person to take evasive action that is continuous and then the last one it says or after being ordered to move by law enforcement officer which also create a um a predetermined action so I think where you guys are probably feeling uncomfortable is that that particular segment says or to require another person to take evasive action because you have to explain why is he taking evasive action unless there's a particular motive there if there's an intentional um is sure is the attorney following me of this do you think that that may be hey commissioner why don't we get all the testimony and and then we can just do this one time okay I was just trying to shorten thank you okay Robert Quinones Alicia sastry hello hello uh yes my name is Robert I'm also known as albisu um I am a resident of um district 6 and I've been in Orlando for most of my life and I come at you I come here before y'all as a concerned citizen I think that we've had a lot of discussion about um the the ways in which that this ordinance does not address the issue of homelessness and as as uncomfortable as it might be um for for pedestrians to be walking it is more uncomfortable for the homeless people to be put in these economic conditions with no kind of um resort to uh better Economic Development and things of that nature so we know that this is not an answer to homelessness but I think that it's clear that this is actually um an ordinance aimed at protesters who else would it be aimed for you there's a nebulous kind of um language okay there's a nebulous kind of language of it's like oh you're out in the club and someone's in your way or someone's obstructing things the only people that like put obstructions outside like in the club or like OPD when like they seal off the the roads um it's clear to me that these past month or so that throughout the state there have been massive protests massive peaceful protest of people who are concerned about their government's um aiding and just completely uh unanimous decision to Aid Israel and there are American citizens um concerned about that and want their voices to be heard as far as I'm concerned this is a infringement on your First Amendment right to convene in public spaces um you either have free speech or you don't have free speech if you have to ask the government for this kind of like tag to give you this um specific place where you can um voice your concerns then you really don't have Free Speech this is a um a ordinance concerning public space and people who um are involved with uh organizing protests and want to voice their um opinions to their government um they have to resort to being on the sidewalk is that does that make sense um I want to remind you that when people are here we're bowing our heads uh we're in prayer uh there there's nothing to me of this ordinance that is Christlike there's no empathy in here there's no um there's no humanity and I will have you all um remember that Martin Luther King was someone who intentionally blocked roads and blocked sidewalks thank you okay again this has absolutely nothing to do with protest or any of the protests that we have had our OPD protect the people actually doing the protesting so wild that you're so intimidated so all righty thank you guys so much so I am also here I am a member of District 2 zip code 32822 you st your name Miss I'm sorry what your name Alicia Sor thank you or so you are my commissioner I do thank you for holding the space to at least break down the language um and CU it is very vague obviously if you have enough people in this room to fill up because our interpretation is that it's being directed towards a certain vulnerable member of your community then it should be addressed it should be looked at more closely because if our interpretation can lead to this an officer's interpretation can lead to this um so I'm going to go back to what I originally was going to say to you guys obviously yes the language is very important um I think I can speak for so many of your residents when I say I've missed one I have been one paycheck away at times from experiencing homelessness despite having a full-time job is a paralal despite having at times two jobs I'm a single mother who escaped the domestic violence and when I needed help the most out of situation I looked for resources in the community and found them scarse and limiting I can only imagine how many of these people on the streets were also in that position and are out in these streets now unfortunately obstructing sidewalks I am also a mother to a child with special needs so when officers are maybe commanding people experiencing homelessness to get out of the street they may not understand they may be non-verbal they may have disabilities that are going to like hinder them from obeying the law so maybe an officer is able to move them out of the way maybe they come back because they don't fully understand my son personally I can tell him not to do something 5 seconds later he's going to do it again cuz it just doesn't understand and there are so many houses communities in this community that are that way and their family has tossed them aside and they are now out in the streets and they're not going to understand this ordinance they're not going to understand our language of this they're not intentionally trying to abrupt traffic but or side box but they are so I just need you guys to understand that it is within your power to do better it's within your power to hold this review the language change it submit it back so it's clear and concise that this is not directing a certain marginalized group in your community Orlando is a city beautiful and it's clear to me after reviewing your budgets and your fiscal reports that your priority dear mayor and Commissioners is to keep up the facade of beauty while your residents pay the price because let's be real this ordinance is not about pedestrian safety when I read it it did not resonate as pedestrian safety this ordinance is about the city beautiful and the image it strives to maintain its Progressive diverse and welcoming this is about maintaining a certain image to many visitors and tourists that drive the city's pro profits the fines and jail time that you seek to impose on these riddens are not going to reduce homelessness it's going to make it worse I am imploring you I have reviewed your funds your budget plans you had the authority you had the ability to make a difference Orlando's vision statement our statement is that Orlando is an international city which uses its diversity amenities and economy to provide a quality of life but what is quality of life if you're going to continue to make these situations worse thank you men Jenna Ferrera Kevin lenberg good afternoon mayor and City commissioners my name is mwin and I am a resident of District 3 I strongly urge the city council to vote against this ordinance 2023 55 just within this meeting I feel that the six Commissioners have already demonstrated that there is a wide interpretation when it comes to this ordinance and it would be irresponsible to leave that interpretation up to hundreds of OPD officers without guaranteeing the safety of homeless and other individuals in Orlando the language used in this ordinance appears to be advocating for the safety of the community but realistically will dis uh contribute to the alienation and displacement of marginalized community members this ordinance grants authority to the Orlando Police Department to levate a misdemeanor charge against anyone they deem as intentionally inhibiting the flow of sidewalk traffic this language is extremely Broad and gives police sole discretion to detain or fine these individuals in particular unhoused Orlando wiins or unpermitted protests for intentionally blocking the city sidewalks which again is difficult to prove legally while this ordinance is being considered our community faces a crisis in affordable housing according to the city's own data the number of people in Orlando that are now facing homelessness has gone up by 75% since the beginning beginning of the co pandemic as we see more people unable to afford housing the city of Orlando is demolishing at least six public housing communities which claims to be functionally obsolete due to the city claiming not to have funds and yet they have funds to pursue this ordinance and paying those cops to uh brutalize citizens if the intent of this ordinance is to keep people safe this ordinance is counterproductive in fact this will risk keeping people experiencing homelessness from ever accessing housing or steady income civil civil fines on people who have nowhere to go locks the community into a cycle of incarceration a $500 fine to someone who is unhoused is an insurmountable expense that would almost guarantee an individual faces further criminal legal action for non-payment this ordinance will further further stratify the class divide in downtown Orlando and only benefit the aesthetic sensibilities of privileged homeowners tourists and the authoritarian forces in this moment where we see so many unfortunate people seeking shelter after losing their homes it is irresponsible possible to punish individuals for simply existing in public spaces if the city council truly seeks to provide citizens and visitors the right to move freely and safely through the city to live according to the principles put forth by Dr Martin Luther King Jr by addressing Injustice and seeing the humanity of all Orlando housed or unhoused as this ordinance and this city council claim to the City commissioners must vote no on ordinance 2023 55 which threatens some of our most vulnerable members of our community in instead of providing the housing and resources that they so desperately need thank you Jenner ferer Ferrera Kevin lenberg ER in favis hi how you doing I'm Kevin lenberg um resident of Orlando Kevin is Jenna not here yes I am here can you hear me yes we can hold on Kevin J first you're up Jenna hi my name is Dr Jenna and I'm a clinical pharmacist that works in the Orlando area I had a previous statement prepared but honestly hearing the comments from the city council has me very much concerned as mentioned before by previous constituents this language in this ordinance is incredibly vague and despite the comments expressed by commissioner Regina I still have a lot of fear of how the police would interpret this because it may be her experience but it's been my experience of many workingclass people and other people of color that the police do enforce laws how they wish also I've been very disgusted to hear how we're speaking of our unhoused members I urge everyone to remember that these are people with literally no resources they have been discarded by society and are unfortunately treated in a violent manner as such as a public health professional I'm in the last semester of my masters in public health degree we are taught that the data collected by the CDC and other profession profal health organizations within this country show that the single most uh important determinant of health so the single factor that determines your outcomes of Health outcomes and things like that is simply your ZIP code one of the main factors in how you can achieve health is how much access you have to resources such as housing such as food such as being treated with basic dignity I have genuine empathy for anyone who has ever exper unsafe conditions but jailing folks criminalizing folks giving police the potential to have an incentive to further criminalize in jail folks is not the answer we must create solutions that address the problem at its core that's ensuring living Wages that's ensuring Access to Health Care Mental Health Care Housing and Community we seem to be so reactive when addressing problems this is a reactive ordinance this does nothing to stop the cause and I was here at a previous meeting this is my second meeting I was here previously y'all might remember me because I was urging a ceasefire resolution to be adopted it wasn't even considered for a vote but that's again just an example of how you refuse to listen to your constituents I had the pleasure of hearing other unhoused activists from the community during the last city council meeting and they had very left views they expressed that overp policing and cutting resources would do nothing for the cause so I'm urging you to listen to the citizens of that make Orlando beautiful we make this city beautiful and we are urging you to please vote against this ordinance please increase wages please advocate for housing Healthcare and food so we don't have to be reactive that we can stop folks from becoming unhoused thank you all right Kevin you're up cool um Kevin lenberg resident of Orlando before I'm uh Urban camper right now I build houses so I built most of Baldwin Park with a lot of help from other people but um so my only crime right now is I have bad credit so I'm an urban camper in your beautiful city thank you Miss Hill for the beautiful prayer in the beginning it was very touching to see the Martin Luther King congregation here Coalition here and then for them to leave as soon as uh this crazy I'm calling it The Homeless profiler and I know man Dyer doesn't agree that this is actually just a bill to house the private prisons that Florida has and this is all it's really going to do is address trying to disappear people like me who are just like I said my only crime is not having good credit so I can't get an apartment or rent a house so I don't do drugs I do sleep on park benches sometimes so I would have been one of the people you have probably seen when we wake up you know I know yeah no I I totally understand but not all of us are like that you know some of us are just working every day like and there's so many people right now in Orlando who you wouldn't even know who are homeless because they're living in hotels they're living out of their cars you don't even see them they're ashamed to even admit that they're homeless and then commissioner she walking downtown at night dealing with drunk people is no reason to pass this ordinance especially when the lawmaker has already said that every single thing is already an existing law there's already a law for it now Orlando PD they're super awesome you know what I mean and they're not going to go around and for scene they already said you're going to vote for this regardless a few of you members have already said that there's no way shape or form you've already made your mind up this is an epidemic it's a so far going and there's just thousand there's not thousands of homeless people walking in the streets of Orlando just laying on the sidewalks you're talking about a few individuals where you've had bad experiences and I appreciate that those things shouldn't happen to you you're a citizen as well you're paying your taxes you're going along just trying to live your lives but there's no way that this ordinance and I love the way mayor left cuz it almost makes me believe that he's the one that has the buddy who owns the private prison system who needs these people in there now everybody can shake their head and look that way well when you have a private prison system that's funded by the government that's shady in itself but to pass this ordinance just to be picking up homeless people off the street who you know they can't pay the fine if you make it500 or $50 they can't pay the F Kevin I happen to agree with you on the private prisons by the way but okay we don't send people to prison on this it's a ordinance that would be County Jail apprciate I hope that's what H how it is m d can I ask ask the gentleman Kevin can I ask you a question so uh in your in your urban camping if you were uh laying in the area and the police officer said you were obstruction obstructing the uh movement of others would and they asked you to move would you move that would Happ if% move what's how many seconds do I have well I I don't I don't know I'm just asking have you have you encountered um a situation where you think you were you thought that the uh OPD was targeting you now Orlando Police PDA has been and with my interactions with me 100% fine and with all within the Realms now I have been sitting before and a couple officers have come up to me and said you can't sit in front of this business because we already have lering so pick my bags up put them on and I stand away for the boss and and I think mayor that's consistent with um what Chief Smith mentioned I asked that question and he said his officers their experiences when they ask someone to move uh they usually move if there some issue so and this is the only thing I I question if all these other laws are already on the books what is this ordinance really about that like there's already all the laws and you're making fun of me for saying prisons and housing them but you're really trying to make these people disappear when it's all they need is help like I said most of them are hardworking people they're not out here doing drugs or trying to hurt anybody they're just trying to get some rest and um live their lives just like everybody else thank you thank you Aaron favis ailia Sanchez Mars Scott hi thank you my name is Aaron uh I live here in Orlando and I've lived here for about 10 years now uh I feel like it's almost kind of ridiculous that I have to be here today um because there are so many things we could be doing for our community members and spending our time and spending our money on but instead we are trying to codify something that for one we've all clearly discussed here today already exists and two just further criminalizes a houseless problem that the city has failed to face honestly I had like a more formal statement here to talk about but honestly to say that we are uh protecting pedestrians and making the city safer the road the we are already not a pedestrian or bike city that is just not something we are we are always by car we have a lack of great public a lack of great public transit that people can't use so you tell people move you have to go somewhere and yes we have very lovely people like Kevin who will move but for the most part where would you like them to go you don't want them on your bench you don't want them in front of a business you don't want them at the park you don't want them in any of your public areas but that's not what this that's not what this ordinance says this ordinance would stop people who are quote unquote obstructing traffic intentionally obstructing pedestrian traffic intentionally who is to decide what intention is the cops because by the time they decide what intention is someone has already either been arrested somebody is already having to now deal with a fine someone might have not have the money to get out of jail so you're leaving a lot of vague language for a city that one is already not very pedestrian friendly like you could go back and look into your City Planning and reorganize that a little bit better and maybe actually take some pointers from your constituents who you all have for the most part other than uh commissioner Ortiz and uh Burns have been looking away as most of our constituents here have been speaking to you about something they're extremely concerned about and I think that's so disrespectful I've watched the cops in this here roll their eyes as people have been speaking so that should already show you the kind of intent that these people are going to put behind this ordinance so I don't understand why when you could hold off on it revise some things talk to maybe some of the folks who are sitting in this room today about what would work better for them you feel the need you have to swiftly pass this ordinance because it is just so urgent when you already have so many other laws on the books and you already have so many people in your prisons so that's all I have to say today thank you ailia Sanchez Mars Scott Jacob moldun yes yes I'm here city council hello good afternoon my name is opilia and I live on East Church Street in District 4 like many I'm here today to speak against ordinance 2023 55 being that I live in the heart of downtown as a woman I too have a personal anecdote related to our houseless neighbors I have been housing and sh in the city before but right now I am currently fortunate to live in a safe and walkable neighborhood while living in community with many of our houseless neighbors in and around my home I regularly walk and bike around at night and see my houseless neighbors regularly at all hours and never once feel unsafe until of course it comes to the many many close sidewalks I encounter in my commutes mostly because of construction with no really adequate um other alternative ways to get around major thorough fares like Colonial um this ordinance jeopardizes the well-being of my homeless neighbors it perpetuates their criminalization and overlooks the root causes of the issue that's impacting them I know that this has been stated again and again but I'm going to repeat it so you can really grasp the gravity of these numbers right the statistic released in May 2023 by the homeless service network stating that between 2022 and 2023 homelessness in Central Florida has increased by 38% 38% since the start of the covid-19 pandemic homelessness has risen 75% in Central Florida I need you all to understand how serious the situation is can you begin to understand how many people that is if this is the number of people who are considered homeless right can you imagine how many people are a Miss paycheck away from this being their reality and rather than put money into Social Services to alleviate some of this burden for your constituents people like Kevin regular folks where using it to fund the further harassment of folks who have nothing this money will go toward further unnecessary interactions with people leading to un payable fines and potential incarceration expanding on the issue of unnecessary fines and incarceration and interactions with police this ordinance ordinance seeks to expand the definition of disorderly conduct something that cannot only be used against our houseless neighbors as we've stated again and again but against any folks who seek to peaceably assemble on sidewalks this would make it even easier for the police to brutalize and arrest the families old folks and again any of your constituents who show up to many of the protest marches around or rallies around our city beautiful not everything is permitted and we are always allowed to protest on public sidewalks but how long until this ordinance is used as an excuse to disallow even that please City Council Members I urge you to really listen to our concerns and to vote no on ordinance number for your time Mars Scott Jacob moldun Franklin Perez Mar Scott no Jacob malun hi hi uh Jacob Mal 4801 Cypress Woods I'm here representing Orlando for gender equality um first I just want to finish uh what council person Ortiz was saying about the actual language of it so at least the way I read it there's a second Clause the first Clause has nothing to say about being asked that's in the second one it says or who after being ordered by law enforcement so in the first Clause it just is talking about laying down about about pedestrians having to take evasive action so I think that's where a lot of the confusion in the language is because there's really two Clauses in this that you guys are kind of just lumping together and language is very important when it comes to ordinances like we said um obviously I'm against this uh but like we said uh these ordinances are going to be outlasting the city council so it may not be what you think but the language is the language and that is a second clause and they're not together um but also as a representative of a queer rights organization I take a problem with this um because unfortunately lgbtq people um are often times forced into houselessness uh 28% of lgbtq Youth Experience houselessness One in five transgender individuals Express uh experiencing houselessness and with our legislative session increasingly targeting these communities this makes it only worse for these communities so for a city that says they're Progressive for a city that says they're standing for lgbtq rights we have to stand not only for lgbtq rights when it comes to marriage but when it comes to economic INE equality when it comes to homes when it comes to the rights of being an actual human uh and like I said the vague language can also um be used to stifle freedom of speech uh needing a permit to speak uh is not freedom of speech in assembly and saying that oh well they won't harass you if you have a permit that's not freedom of speech so OG opposes this uh ordinance with the choir of organizations condemning this as well we need service and funds not an increase in violence and repression and I think I just want to finally end this um since we've been talking about MLK Jr before MLK Jr's assassination he was not only engaging in Civil Disobedience he was organizing poor people so to invoke his name while also trying to attack the poor people of our community I think is very very disgraceful thank you okay Franklin Perez Joe Melendez Katherine malany malele uh hi this is hi this is Franklin Perez can you hear me we can uh hi my name is Franklin Perez and I live in semino County Florida I would like the Orlando city council to vote no on ordinance number 2023 55 relating to disorderly conduct based on the proposed language housing Advocates and Community activists worry the ordinance would largely Target unsheltered people who often congregate in areas near and around downtown Orlando at least in part due to centralization of homelessness resources Community activists who organize food shares and other Direct Services for the city's homeless population have stated that this ordinance jeopardizes the well-being of our homeless neighbors perpetuates the criminalization of homelessness and overlooks the root causes of the issue homelessness more than anything is a housing problem it should not be a crime Martha R president and CEO of the homeless Services Network of Central Florida expressed similar concerns such as within the city it is already illegal to sleep or camp on public property including in parks and on public benches and since it's also illegal to trespass on private property our unsheltered our unsheltered neighbors could find themselves violating the law essentially by merely surviving any arrest or fine would only will only exacerbate the extrem the extreme challenges they face in regaining housing Orlando after all has a decades long history of enacting controversial anti-homeless laws from a ban on panhandling that was ultimately deemed unconstitutional the infamous blue box ordinance to a ban on unper permitting food sharing in city parks that targeted Mutual Aid groups like food not bombs the ordinance is also likely unconstitutional as it likely violates a 2018 US Supreme Court ruling which rulle that people cannot be punished for sitting for sitting or sleeping on public property if there are no adequate shelter Alternatives available declaring this a a violation of the eth amendment prohibiting cruel and unusual punishment r with the homeless Services Network said that shelters in Orlando are often full others may have eligibility requirements that homeless people with complex Health needs may not be able to comfort to comfort to comfortably meet this is also a potential for people to have their First Amendment freedom of speech to be violated with this ordinance for merely protesting peacefully please vote no on this cruel and inhumane ordinance all it does is criminalize homelessness and infringe on our Free Speech rights thank you Joe Mendez kathle cath Katherine elele Roger Weeden good evening first and foremost I want to say congratulations to our commissioners and our mayor for being sworn in this morning and I want to say thank you to commissioner Ortiz for trying to do something about this initiative I understand the issue of safety however I do also understand that we cannot imprison our homeless population one of the things that we're saying right now is there's a lot of empty buildings out there that could be used to house the homeless why aren't we creating incentives for these business owners to decide to shelter these homeless population we could be doing more unfortunately I don't think we're doing enough I understand we're still trying our best to do something about this homelessness issue but like I said more can be done and more should be done why not create a committee to create incentives for these businesses to decide to bring shelter to the homeless Community instead of throwing them in jail thank you for the time to to speak I ask you to please vote no on this 2023 homelessness Bill God bless you Katherine malele Roger Weeden Isa Carter hi my name is Catherine malali I don't want to disclose my address I find it appalling that in a city where rent is going up and wages are staying the same in a city that grossly misuses taxpayer dollars for something as unproductive as a drone light show in a city where the homeless population has increased by 38% in the last year alone that the city of Orlando would introduce an ordinance such as this that would have severe implications for the most vulnerable of our community ad miss one of the worst housing crisises in the country Your solution is to throw money at two organizations that have voiced disdain for the very people that they claim to help and care for instead of listening to what the people who actually live in the community tell you that they need your Solutions are to criminalize the homeless to find them $500 which you know they don't have or to lock them up for 60 days putting them in a cycle of debt and Perpetual punishment you would rather hide away our homeless population you would choose to make them be unseen so you will not have to be faced with your own own failures as a city time and time again the city of Orlando and its Police Department along with the state of Florida have proven that they are willing to do everything in their ability to further silence our first amendment rights so it doesn't come as a surprise that the language of this bill would also solve your problem of unwanted civil discourse that is happening on our streets especially in a city that is known to revoked Pro protest permits at the last minute I have been a city aity of the great Orlando area for my entire life and I have W witnessed the collective failure of this city and the surrounding ones to enact any meaningful change that would benefit its citizens instead I've seen the gross mismanagement of City funds that could go to F go to fixing our infrastructure expanding our public transportation or creating more Public Services I urge you to vote no on this ordinance thank you Miss malele just as a matter of course do you happen to know what we did with with oura funding $68 million that came from the federal government so sorry can you say the question are you you apparently have a um issue with how we've spent the money that we have received yeah and so you must be familiar with how we spent the $68 million in arpa funding we got from the federal government right I am and could you tell me what it is um yes you went to two organizations one that was um a church I was here for the last meeting where both these organizations came up to speak and then one was another Mental Health Service actually we put it 100% into homeless services so I was sure you didn't know that okay okay Roger weed and then Isa Carter good afternoon I am Roger weed I'm a local lawyer here for 40 something years practicing crial defense um I was listening to the references that the prayers involving Martin Luther King I said well what did Martin Luther King have to say about homeless people so I went on my phone like people do these days and found his speech in 1964 to the Nobel Peace his Nobel Peace Prize address upon winning that award he said uh the second evil which plagues in the modern world is that of poverty almost two-thirds of people go to bed hungry every night they're undernourished ill house shaby clad many have no how of beds to sleep in they only beds of the sidewalks of the cities and the villages in which they live there's nothing new about poverty what is new however is that we have resources to get rid of it rich Nation must use their resources to develop undeveloped to develop the underdeveloped school the unschooled feed the hungry ultimately a great nation is a passionate Nation no individual or Nation can be great if it does not have a concern for the least of these I share the concerns of the individuals over here and and the observations about Marther King he's not a sanitized person he was a radical he came out against the Vietnam War his last thing was about Poor People's campaign initially I I saw this as uh the don't say homeless ordinance but I was I was noticing here today that the only people speaking are opponents there's no proponents here other than Miss Sheen and Miss Hill based on their individual issues with people and their Community you know this this should not be called The Machine bill or ordinance because she has a problem with intoxicated people downtown which is going to be there every single night on the sidewalks and Miss Hill you have people sleeping across the street from you those are the the least of the least and mayor D you talk about well this is not going to affect protest because poor mitted people will not be impacted but I've been on City Hall property many of times when groups have marched down to lakeola and without permits and under this statute because they they could be arrested and and Mr otz I I you know you seem to be the most reasonable person here today talking about law enforcement how they should deal with these situations but I can tell you having represent I'm with the national law is killed having represented many people doing the George Floyd protest and back to an occupy Orlando that unfortunately law enforcement can use statutes like this as a pretextual reason for arresting people and people that they're protesting walking down sidewalks under this ordinance could be arrested by law enforcement that have an offense to what they're protesting about which could be police misconduct um but I think it's is important to note there are no proponents here today okay other than Miss Hill and Miss Sheen because of their personal experience with homeless people or with people that are intoxicated I'm a lawyer I'll be glad to answer any questions you might have because there are there are there are issues with this ordinance that Mr orz brought up with about vagueness uh Mr Mr Burns you talked about that the police have to give a warning well they don't they can arrest somebody based on the first part of this statute the or provides for Mone I'm sorry thank you for your t Okay anybody have any questions for a lawyer in this case no Mr no attorney Wilder I don't have a question but I do want to say this I'm not legislating from my own personal experience I just shared something this is coming from most of my constituents and business owners my point of view why I'm voting for this uh ordinance is because I have gone throughout District 5 which encompasses all of downtown Orlando Paramore most the west side of Orlando that has been businesses have been impacted tremendously uh uh due to encampments on the sidewalks uh uh children and parents afraid to come outside at night because of of of of many of the violent issues that's happening with not and I agree I'm a nurse of prior to becoming a commissioner for well over 25 years to getting here that was almost 11 years ago I took care of the Indigent I come from a a Paramore which I didn't wasn't born wealthy or or or any of those things so I'm very compassionate but I'm also sympathetic to businesses that are going out of business in the Paramore area my district because they feel like the sidewalks are being blocked and it's unsafe and patrons aren't coming anymore children that that uh can't go in the evening time and ride their bikes after school because the sidewalks are blocked seniors that are truly afraid because their sidewalks are blocked outside of their neighborhood so it's it's great I I I I appreciate the input from outside of my area the mayor the staff Lisa uh pelli we have gone uh uh here throughout the last two months when we were putting some more funding $6 million in place to help with day with with the day Center for those are experiencing homelessness and they presented something to myself in this council is an action plan and one of their biggest concerns was encampments and blockage of the sidewalks to where it now has become a safety issues in their neighborhood it's okay to say you live in thoron park and ball park where did you invite them to come speak today no they've already came to speak to council and presented us with affid so I'm just telling you where I'm getting my point of information so you don't think that this is personal I just experienced this a couple weeks ago but we've been working as mayor Dar stated $56 million is focused primarily this city now I would say go speak with some of the other counties throughout Central Florida that we need collaboration with to help house the homeless to help with night centers to help with day centers but this city under this marriage leadership and this Council leadership put millions and millions of dollars into the plight of homelessness and making sure that we're treating them in a Humane uh way right here in the center The Hub of downtown paramor but we also have to be mindful that there are citizens and and business owners that are being impacted also so what do we do and it's not not just about homelessness it's about safety and every citizen regardless if they're experiencing homelessness or they're not working 9 to5 or if their infants deserve safe a safe th fair and safe neighborhoods and that's why I'm making this vote it has nothing to do with Regina Hill it's the voices of those that can't sit on this day off that has sent me where are people iiah Carter I just want to let those folks know the national lawyer Guild is here to represent people ACLU is here to to challenge these things the city of okal has spent over half a million dollars dealing with a lot with a statute like this hi my name is Ilia Carter I have lived in Orlando my whole life and I'm here to speak in opposition to ordinance 2023 55 I want to start by saying that the suggestion that this is not targeting unhoused people is ludicrous the language around whether someone is intentionally blocking the road only serves to criminalize people who are forced to live on sidewalks because they don't have anywhere else to go they don't want to be there and there are no multi-millionaires sleeping on the streets as member Hill suggested to vote Yes on ordinance 202 355 is to prioritize your own Comfort over unhoused people's safety and dignity it would prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that you would rather have unhoused people forcibly removed from your line of sight than confront the fact that the government you're a part of leaves families to starve on the streets unhoused people are members of this community who you should be representing as much as you represent anyone else and yet you've decided to give cops even more opportunity to harass people who are just trying to get by this ordinance is purposely vague so as to maximize the brutality inflicted upon unhoused people and community members trying to help them it's absolutely important and I'm not sure how someone can vote in favor of it and still sleep at night speaking of which member Hill you me mentioned being a afraid to sleep at night and I'm very sorry that happened to you with that experience in mind do you think unhoused people aren't afraid to sleep at night do you think cops having free reain to displace them doesn't put them in danger me remember she and you mentioned feeling afraid walking home at night funny over there that I had someone invade my house that was mentally ill and homeless with a knife to kill me that could have killed me and my grandson you're very insensitive while you're asking me to be sensitive go ahead uh okay I would like my time to be reset uh to where it was before I don't think we're laughing at that happening to you I think it's it's just quite ironic that you're using that to justify putting more people in danger um member Sheen you mentioned mentioned feeling afraid to walk home at night which I'm sure every woman in here can empathize with um unhoused women are particularly vulnerable to harassment and assault including at the hands of cops since you clearly care about women do you think that unhoused women are made safer by this Ordinance do you think that unhoused women being forcibly removed from any semblance of shelter they've managed to find and possibly becoming incarcerated do you think that makes women safer people sleeping on the streets should make you uncomfortable because human beings don't deserve that it should make you afraid because any one of us in this room could end up homeless at any time and it should wreck your conscience for the rest of your life if you vote in favor of this ordinance thank you for your time [Music] commissioner Stewart thank you mayor um let me and i' talked to several people let me make sure that we're on the same page as what I understand um those who are loitering those who are acting in uh civil disobedient manner those who are not licensed we have ordinance for those to stay and there's no change from what we can do today I understand it um where we have a challenge is that there are groups of people who um occupy public space um with the essentially the intent to intimidate others that's not those who do protest that's not those who do other um uh things that we can protect um and it tends to be unfortunately those who have happen to have uh uh alcohol in your system I see this as a a good opportunity for us to to uh address the intent of people getting together um cops have a challenge they can only really address Behavior so um uh if this LLY contact is the issue uh they can only address disorderly contact um but if the idea is that people can't walk on a sidewalk um I I think that we have the ability to say y'all y'all need to clear the way if you don't clear the way we we need to make sure you're on public space that's not public protest that's not the issues that have been raised so far today um I I I'm in favor of this I think we move forward on it but I think that we ought to see some um um see if we can see some responses back in the next 6 months to a year to see if we've had some real genuine uh success with it because I think that there may be other things that we um that we may need to or can look to address uh but there's no reason why anybody can't walk down a sidewalk on our and today now the other thing that concerns me is some of those some comments that we have implied or heard um if if somebody is intentionally trying to block you on a public thoroughfare uh I don't believe that is is fair um uh you know we we we have the right of freedom of speech until the Supreme Court said you can't scream fire in a crowded theater so um our freedom of speech is only limited to how is infringed on somebody else so now you have the same issue here uh freedom to assemble is only limited to how it infringes on somebody else's ability to assemble um and so I think this is a good opportunity for us to be able to address uh intent especially in the downtown Corridor um and I'd like to see us try it I'd like to see us see a report back in the next six months or so to see how it's enforced and and and and see if we're really having some success with it um if we're not then we can try to address uh in a different perspective but uh uh this is not intended to go after homeless it's not intend to out the people who are sleeping on the sidewalk um um unless they barricade the sidewalk and intentionally decide that they don't want people to pass and if that's the case uh then frankly no offense if I did for 25 years I'd put those people in jail uh if the idea is that you're going to block the sidewalk and not let people pass uh you don't have a right to do that anymore than you have the right to yell and fire and crowded yes exactly exactly so the intent here really is to to look at the intent of get people Gathering without a permit on a sidewalk that has become uh dangerous to the thousands of people that gather here especially on weekends um so with that may I'd like to I'm in favor of this and I'd like to see if we can uh see some report back in the next 3 to six months to see uh maybe we can reclassify these in terms of how we're filing them and we can get a chance to see what the sucess we can certainly do that commissioner commissioner Burns and commissioner Ortiz uh uh yes mayor thank you um you know and I agree with some of the things that uh commissioner Stewart mentioned uh but my concern is that there's um and I as I as we were hearing testimony I continue to read through this ordinance and there is a lot of ambiguity uh I think that when we I make the statement about the uh person having to be ordered to be moved by the law enforcement uh the gentleman who spoke Roger I mean uh Jacob I believe was correct that there's two Clauses uh and so I would like to see some language change that would make it less uh ambiguous and um really spell out what it means because you know even I think if we added any person after being ordered to move by law enforcement officers at the beginning of 43.0 6 I think we start to get closer to it being clearer of uh of of what the intent of this order ordinance is so uh right now I cannot uh Vote for This ordinance because I believe it does have a level of ambiguity that I'm I'm not comfortable with at this time Mr Ortiz um mayor when I when I think of this ordinance I think of my young daughter being downtown and one of this person who have drank too much becomes a bully and blocks a female from driving or walking by and gets all nasty over now that's that's what I'm thinking of I'm not thinking about homeless people CU most homeless people like he was describing when you say Sir can you move for what now most people they move so there's no intention there we're not going to go after those people we're not nobody is I don't know why this has become a homeless issue because we are not going after homeless we have plenty of issues downtown we're looking for the safety of our people downtown so people can come in to down to downtown and have fun but there are some bullies out there and and I think you guys know that I think there's people out there that they don't know how to control their drinking and they they become obnoxious and then they start playing games with other people and I think that's when police officers have to come in and do what they have to do the yeah that's we gave you each your three minutes that wanted it so now's time for discussion among Commissioners the other thing and I feel truly sad that there's such a lack of of trust us with uh with the with law enforcement as if everybody in law enforcement was was bad I don't know if this is because of bad experiences you guys have had personally or whatnot but uh that's not the case that's not the case and that's why we also have a system to police that and I think we you need to it should be part of the system and we appreciate by the way I got to say this I appreciate you coming over and expressing your opinions about this because we you may have something here here um earlier I talked about possibility of the way this is worded okay to maybe uh instead of just saying maybe we should be more specific in a sense such a manner as to intentionally block passage by another person or block other passage to require another person to take evasive action to avoid physical contact maybe had a few more words that would be more specific so you guys will understand and and I don't know if the attorney can do something like this it's just a matter of repeating or or re rewarding some of this things so because to tell you the truth I mean and then again I don't fault you I work in law enforcement for many years so I see it in with a different perspective but I can understand where you're coming from no sett you guys have had your opportunity for public testimony I'm have to ask you to leave if you keep sh from the audience so what I'm saying is and then again I'm I'm going to ask for our attorney to see if there's something that he can come sir you need to leave there's no need for this please you need to leave there's no need for this please there's no need for this [Music] please let's let's talk to each other this is this is great you know you guys are talking you guys are and this is what we're here for to listen to you and we're going to work you know but uh let us let us if the attorney can come up and maybe there's a way of for us we have to read it again when we have to bring it I can read no no an amendment can be made as we speak no I don't I don't think mayor if if there was something that he could TW well for the better understanding commission I think I would be more comfortable not amending it at the table with with some verbal let this go through if we have issues with it I'll take commissioner Stewart's recommendation we come back in six month then revisit it but all I'm asking I I think the attorney I think cuz I I saw him making some motion I think I think he understands what I'm asking it's just to add a word so he would be more specific in a sense of okay let's take a shot at that uh to to answer the commissioner's question the the language is really already there and to address some of the vaguest concerns this specific new language that's being proposed to be added to the ordinance is patterned directly on a city of Seattle ordinance uh that uses identical language uh that when challenged for uh on grounds of of constitutional vagueness and over breath uh the courts upheld uh so the specific language has has survived challenge before uh the this this first Clause that's being added that intent element applies to both portions of the the disjunctive phras so they have to intentionally uh block another person's passage or intentionally cause that person to take evasive action so it it that intent applies to that the entirety of the first Clause that's being added I get it I do understand it I just want to make it I I want to dilute it in a way where our community can understand that's all I'm asking um as I said and I and I I do get it um maybe we need to just sit down and have a conversation I can probably explain it to you to to where you guys and I'll be more than happy to to sit down cuz I think the big thing is you guys are I think you guys are misunderstanding the intent of this ordinance and and I would love to sit down and I think the attorney would do to explain it to you to where you guys will be I think that'll work commissioner we'll put you in charge of that I'll do I'll do sit down with you further discussion hearing none on favor of the motion indicate so by saying I I those opposed I okay 61 passes okay we are on Madam Clark number six ordinances on second reading ordinance number 2023 56 an ordinance of the city council of the city of Orlando Florida amending chapter 62 Orlando city code to modify the Virginia Drive special plan providing legislative findings and for severability codification correction let's just wait till they clear the okay continue please ordinance number 2023 56 an ordinance of the city council of the city of Orlando Florida amending chapter 62 Orlando city code to modify the Virginia Drive special plan providing legislative findings and for separability codification correction of scrier error and an effective date Mr steart asleep at the wheel I'll move to adop he's oh yeah that's right um okay then it was motioned by the commissioner from district one and the second came from the commissioner of District Two Madam clerk anybody that wants to testify on this matter no speakers mayor discussion hearing none all in favor of the motion indicate so by saying I I I those opposed and so no okay 52 it passes ordinances first read number one [Music] ordinance number 2023 51 an ordinance of the city council of the city of burlando Florida amending chapter 66 of the Land Development code entitled definitions by amending the definition of substantial enlargement and providing for severability codification correction of scor's error and an effective date so moov motion by commissioner she and second by commissioner Hill clerk no speakers mayor discussion hearing none all in favor of the motion indicate so by saying I I oppos motion carries okay number two ordinance number 202 24-1 an ordinance to the city council of the city of Orlando Florida relating to signs amending chapter 62 part 3 Land Development code entitled appearance review standards amending chapter 62 part 4 Land Development code entitled specially planned areas amending chapter 64 part 1 Land Development code entitled introduction and general requirements amending chapter 64 part 2 C Land Development code entitled specific onsite signs amending chapter 64 part 7 Land Development code entitled temporary signs amending chapter 64 part 8 Land Development code entitled special signed districts providing for separability codification correction Governor's error and an effective date second motion by commissioner Hill second by commissioner Shen mam mcar no speakers mayor discussion hearing none all in favor of the motion indicate so by saying I I those oppos motion carries and number three three ordinance number 2024-25 correction of scor errors and an effective date motion by commissioner Sheen second by commissioner Hill Madam clerk no speakers mayor discussion hearing none all in favor of the motion indicate so by saying I I was opposed and so the motion carries that's the end of our formal agenda um Ed could you get us ready for General [Music] appearance [Music]