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Some Solicitors May Get The Boot

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By ELLEN GEDALIUS

The Tampa Tribune

Published: June 14, 2008

TAMPA - Representatives from churches stand in medians collecting money for their ministries. Firefighters gather to raise money for children suffering from muscular dystrophy. Political candidates eagerly wave signs, beckoning for votes.

It's all too much for one Tampa city councilman, who says he witnesses solicitors standing on the medians along Bruce B. Downs Boulevard nearly every day, with signs promoting low-cost condominiums or collecting money for churches.

"You just can't allow everybody who wants to go out and solicit," Councilman Joseph Caetano said. "People are at a big intersection, and they are distracted by reading that sign.

Now, the city is looking for ways to limit or ban solicitation on medians. Hillsborough County also is considering rewriting its rules for solicitors.

Those who rely on solicitations say any regulations could have a harsh impact on their ability to raise money and, in turn, provide services for the less fortunate.

The concept of reining in solicitors immediately brings up First Amendment issues.
City Attorney David Smith has advised the city council that a permitting process for solicitors has its pitfalls. The First Amendment allows restrictions on time, place and manner of speech, but not on content, Smith said. Requiring permits, he said, "has a connotation of: You apply; we evaluate; we decide."

A Blanket Ban?

City rules prohibit soliciting on the right of way of any public street unless the city council grants a permit. Smith said the council might consider doing away with the permit process, instead establishing a blanket ban on solicitors in medians for health and safety reasons.

The city's legal staff also will consider whether restrictions implemented in medians should be extended to sidewalks or the sides of rights of way. The council will make any final decision.

A recent federal court ruling out of Miami that says that county's permitting and loitering ordinances are unconstitutional also could affect Tampa's plans, as could a state law passed last year that exempts nonprofit groups from local requirements for a permit.

Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio has indicated early support for finding a way to limit solicitations on medians.

"He has a good point," Iorio said of Caetano. "People in the medians should not be there. It's a traffic hazard to have people walking in the street. I witness it all the time."

A Tampa police spokeswoman said the department doesn't track statistics on how many accidents are caused by motorists distracted by solicitors. The department also could not say how many solicitors were injured by cars.

Balancing Rights

Councilman Charlie Miranda is grappling with the best way to balance the rights of people who are trying to raise money for a good cause and public safety concerns.

"What's going to happen to your First Amendment rights of free speech?" Miranda said. "It gets so confusing, and who's going to enforce it? I don't want to take away the rights of bona fide individuals. Then the question becomes, who's bona fide? That's what I get hung on."

Said Councilwoman Linda Saul-Sena: "If I had to weigh in on the side of things, I would say I'm a big free-speech person."

The Hillsborough County Commission also is trying to figure out how to deal with solicitors. The county doesn't have a permitting process for them.

County Commissioner Rose Ferlita said the county can't tell nonprofit charities, for example, that they can solicit but then tell another group's members they can't do it.

"It has to be a permitting process that's fair," Ferlita said. "The conditions need to be content neutral. You can't prohibit one person but say the firefighters are doing it for a good cause. It has to be safe and fair to everybody, and that is the dilemma."

If a permitting process is established, she said, she probably would push for prohibiting solicitations at night. She also likes the idea of requiring solicitors to wear reflective vests.

From newspaper hawkers to churches, many organizations rely on being able to raise money from motorists.

Sherry Yagovane, district director of the Muscular Dystrophy Association's Tampa office, said the firefighters who raise money for the organization are trained safety officers and should be allowed to continue solicitations.

"It's different than a church group going out or putting young kids out there - that's how I look at it," Yagovane said.

Boot Drives Traditional

For 50 years, she said, firefighters have raised millions of dollars for the Muscular Dystrophy Association through boot drives in which firefighters ask motorists to drop donations into a firefighter boot. Her organization has faced restrictions before.

"It is a challenge," Yagovane said. "It would affect our services if we were unable to do it. Our money stays locally."

At least one local church is concerned about restrictions on soliciting.

Jeff Poresky, corporate secretary and church deacon for People that Love, said his group relies solely on money collected from street solicitations. The St. Petersburg-based group does most of its soliciting in Pinellas County but occasionally hits the streets in Tampa.

"It could dramatically affect us," Poresky said. "We don't have a congregation that gives us tithes and offerings."

He said the four people who solicit for his ministry stay on the median and don't step into traffic. He worries that when one government talks about restricting where they can stand, other governments will follow suit.

"That's always looming over our heads," Poresky said.

Reporter Ellen Gedalius can be reached at (813) 259-7679 or egedalius@tampatrib.com.

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