Leon County commissioners approve narrow ordinance restricting use of medians under 6 feet, 6-1

The Leon County Board of County Commissioners voted 6-1 on a substitute motion Monday to adopt a county ordinance that prohibits people from occupying medians narrower than 6 feet and makes violations subject to a civil fine rather than criminal penalties.

The ordinance, advanced as a substitute to a proposal that would have mirrored the City of Tallahassee’s broader ban, passed after Commissioner Maddox moved the county-draft option and Commissioner Cummings seconded; Commissioner O’Keefe cast the lone vote against the measure.

The measure applies only in the county’s unincorporated areas where medians narrower than 6 feet exist. Public Works staff told commissioners it analyzed 16 high-frequency intersections and found only three in unincorporated Leon County with medians relevant to the draft ordinance and that most high-traffic intersections are inside the city limits, where the City of Tallahassee’s ordinance governs.

Supporters framed the ordinance as a public-safety measure. “No part of [my motion] was about homelessness. No part of it was about panhandling,” said Commissioner Maddox, who sponsored the…