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Commissioners seek joint workshop with Tallahassee on Pensacola Street after recent shootings and homelessness concerns
Summary
Following reports of multiple recent shootings and ongoing homelessness-related issues on Pensacola Street, Leon County commissioners amended the Southside Action Plan motion to invite the City of Tallahassee to a joint Pensacola Street corridor workshop to pursue coordinated responses.
Commissioners amended a motion on the Southside Action Plan to request a joint Pensacola Street corridor workshop with the City of Tallahassee after Commissioner Caban described recent violent incidents and urged coordinated action.
Commissioner Caban said three shootings had occurred since the board last discussed the corridor: a double homicide on Pensacola Street, a shooting on the Tallahassee State College campus that originated on or near Pensacola Street, and another shooting near Mabry Street. Caban framed the problem as larger than nuisance activity tied to homelessness and called for staff and stakeholders to develop actionable responses. “I don’t have the solution,” Caban said, “but I want us to find a solution,” and proposed a Pensacola Street advisory board of local stakeholders.
Commissioners and staff discussed jurisdictional limits: much of the corridor lies within the City of Tallahassee and some portions are on state roads, so city cooperation would be required for zoning or many physical changes. County staff and several commissioners recommended first requesting a joint workshop with the city to ensure coordinated action and to avoid asking county staff to create plans the city could not implement.
County Administrator Vince Mistrier and planning staff confirmed the Big Bend Continuum of Care is working on a corridor plan focused on homelessness and that planning staff had been coordinating on zoning and corridor issues. Commissioners agreed to add to the workshop motion a directive that staff invite the City of Tallahassee to a joint Pensacola Street corridor workshop; the amended motion passed unanimously as part of the broader Southside Action Plan actions and will be ratified at a subsequent regular meeting.
Commissioners said they expect the joint workshop to identify jurisdictional responsibilities, existing and proposed interventions relating to homelessness and public safety, and any subsequent committee or working-group structure to pursue coordinated steps.
