St. Johns County will pay $90,000 and permanently stop enforcing an anti-panhandling ordinance under a deal reached last month with two Florida civil rights groups that challenged the law in court.
The Florida Justice Institute and Southern Legal Counsel announced the accord, with the county agreeing to cover damages, attorneys’ fees, and costs.
County officials also agreed not to enforce the law moving forward.
Passed in May 2023 by the St. Johns County Board of County Commissioners, the ordinance banned panhandling on sidewalks and medians along county roadways.
The restriction also prohibited remaining on a median for longer than needed to cross the road.
Homeless advocates argued that the measure was an unconstitutional violation of free speech laws.
In backing the passage, the board argued that it protected public safety.
“All of St Johns County’s ordinances are designed and directed to intentionally provide for and protect the health, safety, and well-being of its community,” the county said in a statement after the filing of the federal case. “Our ordinance is not about specific people but about purposeful public safety.”
“Based upon a settlement agreement, the County’s Right-of Way Safety Ordinance is not being enforced as written,” a county spokesperson said in a statement to The Citizen Wednesday.
The lawsuit was brought on behalf of Joseph LaValley, Thomas D. Smith, and Dylan Torres Pagan, longtime county residents.
They had been warned by police to stop panhandling in public spaces, the release stated.
LaValley and Smith were arrested, prosecuted, and fined.
LaValley is a former construction worker battling esophageal cancer who survives on disability benefits and food stamps, the attorneys stated.
Smith and Pagan also struggle with permanent housing and income, they said.
While the law was in effect, 32 people were believed to have been cited and four arrested.
