County Passes Ordinances Targeting Homelessness While Acknowledging Affordability Crisis

Escambia County, FL (Newsradio 92.3) — Escambia County commissioners on Thursday unanimously approved two ordinances aimed at giving law enforcement stronger tools to address visible homelessness in public spaces — though board members stressed the measures won’t fix the region’s deeper affordability crisis.

The first ordinance expands the county’s ban on illegal camping to include daytime activity, not just overnight sleeping. The second prohibits panhandling and camping on road medians narrower than eight feet, a change commissioners said is meant to reduce safety risks at high-traffic intersections such as Mobile Highway and New Warrington Road, where residents have complained about trash and hazardous pedestrian activity.

County Attorney Allison Katz said the update closes a loophole in state law. “The state law currently indicates that camping is only overnight,” she told commissioners. “This opens it up to be if you're camping even during the day. Meaning you just can't hang out with your coolers and cook out on our sidewalks in public spaces day or night.”

The Waterfront Mission — the county’s largest homeless services provider — urged commissioners to strengthen enforcement. Representative Clay Romano said people camping outside the Mission have refused services and created dangerous conditions. On December 8, a homeless individual was struck in a hit-and-run on Herman Street.

Still, commissioners cautioned that enforcement alone won’t address the root causes of homelessness.

Commissioner Lumon May highlighted the case of a woman with three children who works full-time at a Red Roof Inn but sleeps in her car because she can’t afford $1,500 in monthly rent. “She’s not lazy,” May said. “She just can’t make enough to pay for her children.”

Commissioner Steven Strohberger, a Navy veteran, shared his own experience inviting a homeless man to Thanksgiving years ago, saying the issue is rarely simple. “I don’t think anybody on the dais here believes that being homeless is a crime,” he said.

The board agreed to take up broader solutions — including mental health services, addiction treatment, and affordable housing strategies — at an upcoming budget-season committee meeting.