Jeff Kunerth | [Orlando] Sentinel Staff Writer
Posted November 23, 2006

Advocates for the homeless said Wednesday that they intend to test the Orlando ordinance banning the feeding of the homeless by returning to Lake Eola Park on Friday.

"We will be testing the waters to see if they really want to enforce this inhumane and illegal ordinance," said Ben Markeson, a member of Stop the Ordinance Partnership, a homeless-advocacy group.

The City Council passed an ordinance in July forbidding the feeding of the homeless in city parks, and set up a designated feeding area on city-owned property on Sylvia Lane. The homeless who camp near the feeding site were recently evicted by Orlando police, following complaints from residents of the Lake Lucerne neighborhood and the CSX railroad.

The American Civil Liberties Union has filed a lawsuit challenging the anti-feeding ordinance and vowed again to sue the city over the confiscation of possessions belonging to the homeless.

"The wanton destruction of the few meager items possessed by these unsheltered homeless people affects their health, safety and, perhaps, their very lives," said a letter delivered to City Hall on Wednesday by local ACLU president George Crossley.

Crossley's letter asks the city to compensate the homeless for the possessions that were taken.

In response to the letter, city officials said the homeless who lost possessions could file a claim for compensation with the city. As for the feedings at Lake Eola, the groups would be expected to obtain a permit from the Police Department, said Brie Turek, Mayor Buddy Dyer's spokeswoman.

Jeff Kunerth can be reached at 407-420-5392 or jkunerth@orlandosentinel.com.