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St. Petersburg considers no-protest zones
Officials worry that protests near BayWalk and Tropicana Field threaten public safety.
By CARRIE JOHNSON
Published July 20, 2004
ST. PETERSBURG - Chris Ernesto and about 25 colleagues gather outside BayWalk every Saturday night to voice their frustration about the situation in Iraq.
Waving banners that say "U.S. Out of Iraq" and "Fire the Liar," they distribute literature and explain their views to the hundreds of people who flock to the entertainment and shopping complex.
"It's the most high-traffic area in the city, the place with the highest exposure," said Ernesto, a member of St. Pete for Peace. Other groups agree and choose BayWalk for their protests, too.
Now, city officials say the demonstrations are creating a public safety hazard by pushing pedestrians into the streets. They have proposed designating "pedestrian safety zones" outside BayWalk and Tropicana Field where picketing would not be allowed.
The city's legal staff said the zones won't place illegal limits on freedom of speech because the protesters still would have reasonable access to the areas where they want to demonstrate.
But at least one legal scholar said the city may be in danger of violating the state and federal constitutions.
"If I choose to walk on public property and demonstrate, then I have a constitutional right to do that," said Robert N. Davis, a professor at Stetson University College of Law.
The plan will be presented to the City Council at a workshop Aug. 2 and is scheduled for a public hearing Aug. 5.
Under the current proposal, the sidewalk near BayWalk on the north side of Second Avenue between Second Street N and First Street NE and the crosswalk that connects to the south side of the avenue would be designated as a pedestrian safety zone.
Near Tropicana Field, the east side of 16th Street between First and Fourth avenues S, and the crosswalk that connects to the west side of the street would also become a zone.
Rick Mussett, the city's development administrator, said the idea was proposed jointly by city staff and BayWalk officials.
People would be allowed to demonstrate anywhere but within the zones, said Chief Assistant City Attorney Mark Winn. For example, protests could continue across the street from BayWalk on the south side of Second Avenue.
"Obviously, every sign would still be seen from across the street," Winn said. "And they're loud, so they will still be heard."
The zones would be enforced only during periods of high traffic: Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights at BayWalk, and 30 minutes before and after events at Tropicana Field.
Some restrictions can be placed on freedom of speech if there are sufficient avenues of communication, Winn said. As guidance, he turned to the city's panhandling laws, which were approved in 2002 and set up areas where it is illegal to beg for money.
But Davis said the city might have a more difficult time justifying the restriction of political speech, which the First Amendment was created to protect.
Even if the zones are found to be legal under the U.S. Constitution, they may violate Florida law, he said. A recent Florida Supreme Court case explicitly protected the right to demonstrate, even though the protester in question was inside a shopping mall, which is private property, Davis said.
"The bottom line is, Florida law does allow people to assemble in malls for the purposes of political speech," he said. "It seems to me that BayWalk is a very appropriate place for public discourse."
Craig Sher, president and CEO of the Sembler Co., which owns BayWalk, was out of town Monday and could not be reached for comment.
But some BayWalk business owners were puzzled by the city's timing. After eight months of weekly protests, the International People's Democratic Uhuru Movement decided to stop demonstrating last month after BayWalk officials agreed to loosen their code of conduct.
Laura Goodman, manager of White House Black Market, an upscale clothing store, said it has been much quieter since the Uhurus left.
"Now it's mostly the antiwar protesters," she said. "They don't have as much of an impact on the businesses."
James O. Simmons, president and CEO of the Pinellas County Urban League, agreed to intervene on behalf of BayWalk and broker a deal with the Uhurus. He said he wasn't aware of the city's most recent proposal and feared it may generate ill will.
"I can't speak for the Uhurus," Simmons said. "But it seems to me that when you attempt to herd people to where you want them to be, that's when you create a problem."
City Council members have not yet received a final proposal from the city's legal staff. But council chairman Bill Foster said his first reaction is to support it.
"You don't want people protesting directly in front of a pedestrian crosswalk," he said. "To me, that's a real public safety issue."
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Carrie Johnson can be reached at 727 892-2273 or cjohnson@sptimes.com
[Last modified July 19, 2004, 23:48:20]
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