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Residents criticize ‘Clean and Safe’ and proposed business improvement district, urge housing and outreach instead
Summary
Multiple speakers at the June 12 council meeting criticized a proposed Clean and Safe program and business improvement district (BID) that residents say would privatize park management and displace unhoused people; speakers urged housing‑first, expanded outreach and non‑punitive services
A series of residents and faith leaders urged the St. Petersburg City Council on June 12 to reject proposals they say would criminalize or displace people experiencing homelessness and to instead fund housing, outreach and mental‑health services.
Lede: Dozens of public‑comments speakers used the council’s open forum to push back on a proposed Clean and Safe program and related business improvement district (BID) approach that some say would put private property owners in charge of public space rules and pressure vulnerable residents to move.
Nut graf: Speakers — including ministers, neighborhood organizers and people who deliver services — framed the issue as a choice between privatizing public parks and pursuing ‘‘housing‑first’’ strategies. They asked council to prioritize outreach workers, wraparound services and permanent housing over enforcement or security models.
What speakers said: - Reverend Andy Oliver, pastor at Allendale United Methodist Church, said street outreach, housing‑first strategies and mental‑health resources are what ‘‘work’’ and warned that punitive systems would criminalize poverty. ‘‘If downtown doesn't belong to the most vulnerable among us, it doesn't truly belong to any of us,’’ Oliver said. - Dylan Dames (Faith in Florida) and other speakers referenced past council votes that allowed supportive housing and criticized neighbors who opposed services for vulnerable residents. Dames called Clean and Safe ‘‘displacement’’ that would transfer public functions to the private sector. - Jay James said Williams Park is a public space with a long history and warned against privatizing it or using subtle measures, like removing benches, to exclude people. - Tenant‑rights and advocacy speakers, including William Kilgore of the Saint Pete Tenants Union, described BIDs as tools that allow downtown property owners to control public space and favor private security over social services, and urged funding for direct services instead.
No formal proposal was before the council for a final vote during open forum, but speakers referenced materials and committee discussions earlier in the week and repeatedly asked the city to invest in outreach and housing rather than privatized park rules or security patrols.
Why it matters: Council members have previously discussed elements of Clean and Safe, BIDs, and park management in committee. The public comments show strong opposition from faith leaders, tenants' organizers and residents who say the city should not cede control of public parks to private interests and should boost mental‑health and housing investments.
Ending: Speakers urged concrete alternatives — expanding case‑management street‑outreach teams, funding nonprofit crisis supports and creating pathways to housing for people displaced by the storms — and asked council to ensure any program keeps public parks truly public.
