ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — On Thursday, the St. Pete City Council scrapped its resolution to declare a housing emergency, which ended the chances for rent control measures to appear on the November ballot.
This was after demonstrators camped in tents outside of city hall on Wednesday night to make a statement about rent increases leading to homelessness. Rent prices have gone up by more than 25% in the city over the last year.
Renters took their concerns in front of St. Pete City Council members in a packed meeting that lasted for more than five hours with at least 69 speakers during public comments, according to the city. Many begging city leaders to use their power to do something to stop landlords from pricing out tenants.
But the vote came down to concerns regarding legal challenges.
Before the meeting, city attorneys told council members they would need to first adopt an ordinance, which requires two public hearings and would not make it on time to be on the November ballot.
So instead, Councilwoman Deborah Figgs-Sanders motioned to refer the agenda item to the Youth and Family Services committee for a continued discussion and have a draft ordinance be written for 2023, but that motion failed with a vote of 5 to 3.
RECOMMENDED: