§ 2-4-42. Soliciting, begging and panhandling on roadways.

(a)

Definitions.

Beg, panhandle or solicit shall mean any request made in person for donations, contributions, employment, business, sales or exchanges of any kind either by words, bodily gestures, signs for other means, from another person.

Median shall mean an area that separates traffic, also known as a central reservation, median strip, island, or other separator.

Public right-of-way shall mean land in which the state, the Florida Department of Transportation, a county, or other public entity owns the fee or has an easement associated with any road, including the public sidewalks.

Road shall mean the road surface, medians, travel lanes, turn lanes, and all ways open to travel by operators of motorized vehicles within unincorporated Charlotte County. The definition excludes private roads and roads that are not open to motor vehicle travel, and sidewalks open for pedestrian travel.

Sidewalk shall mean that portion of the right of way between the road surface and the adjacent property lines intended for use by pedestrians. A sidewalk may be paved or unpaved.

Traveled portion of a roadway shall mean any portion of a roadway that is normally used by a moving vehicle or that is not a lawful parking area.

(b)

Prohibited.

(1)

Beggars, panhandlers or solicitors are prohibited from begging, panhandling, or soliciting from any driver or occupant of a vehicle while that vehicle is on the traveled portion of a roadway.

(2)

Drivers or occupants of vehicles located on the traveled portion of a roadway are prohibited from offering donations, contributions, employment, business, sales or exchanges of any kind to beggars, panhandlers, or solicitors.

(3)

Beggars, panhandlers, or solicitors are prohibited from standing on a traffic median for the purpose of begging, panhandling, or soliciting.

(c)

Penalties. A violation of this section shall be punishable as provided in section 1-1-8 of the Charlotte County Code of Laws and Ordinances.

(d)

Exceptions. Notwithstanding the provisions of section 2-4-42(B), Charlotte County Code, the county administrator's designee, hereinafter referred to as the ordinance administrator, may grant a permit to any person to otherwise engage in the activities prohibited in section 2-4-42(B), Charlotte County Code, by issuing a permit to that person, subject to the following limitations:

(1)

Each permit application must include a written safety plan which includes the following elements, as applicable, to ensure the event occurs in a safe manner:

a.

Identify a competent person capable of identifying existing and predictable hazards in the surrounding area who has authority to take prompt corrective measures to eliminate them;

b.

Provide a diagram or sketch of the road location including any intersections, traveling or turn lanes, signs, and traffic control signals;

c.

Identify the speed limit of the road;

d.

Show the location of warning areas where signs are posted to warn about the event prior to entering the activity area on the diagram or sketch;

e.

Show the location of a transition area between the warning area and activity area on the diagram or sketch;

f.

Show the location of the activity area where persons will enter and exit the Road, and conduct any activity on the Road on the diagram or sketch;

g.

Show the location of a transition area between the activity area and termination of the event location on the diagram or sketch;

h.

Identify the hours during which the event will take place;

i.

Provide an estimate of the maximum number of participants for each day the event it is conducted;

(2)

The permitted activities can only occur during Friday, Saturday, and Sunday on the following weekends, from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.:

a.

The second full weekend of March.

For the purposes of this subsection, the first full weekend shall mean those weekends where Friday, Saturday, and Sunday all fall within the prescribed month.

(3)

Each participant must wear high-visibility safety vests meeting the requirements of the International Safety Equipment Association (ISEA) "American National Standard for High-Visibility Safety Vests".

(4)

Each person engaged in the act of going onto any road to distribute any item to, receive any item from, or exchange any item with the occupant of any motorized vehicle shall only enter the road while the traffic signal for that lane is red.

(5)

A person shall not remain in the traveled portion of the road while the traffic signal for that lane is green.

(6)

Any exchange must take place on the side of the vehicle closest to the sidewalk or median from which the person enters the road. A person may not walk between any traveling lanes, or between a turn lane and traveling lane, at any time during the event.

(7)

A person shall not approach a moving vehicle or one (1) which does not have a window down and an occupant who has given some sign of assent to approach.

(8)

Each person engaged in the act of going onto any Road to distribute any item to, receive any item from, or exchange any item with the occupant of any motorized vehicle must be at least eiighteen (18) years old.

(9)

Each person engaged in the act of going onto any road to distribute any item to, receive any item from, or exchange any item with the occupant of any motorized vehicle shall not be intoxicated.

(10)

No pets shall be allowed at the location of any of the permitted activities.

(11)

The event may take place only within three hundred (300) feet of these intersections:

a.

S. McCall Road and Gasparilla Road;

b.

El Jobean Road and Toledo Blade Blvd.;

c.

Cochran Blvd. and U.S. Highway 41;

d.

Harbor Blvd. and U.S. Highway 41;

e.

Duncan Road and Regents Road;

f.

Taylor Road and Jones Loop Road;

g.

Burnt Store Road and U.S. Highway 41;

h.

Kings Highway and Rampart Blvd..

Each intersection shall be permitted individually and be available on a first-come-first-served basis, as each permit applicant may only encumber one (1) intersection per event.

(12)

To help defer the costs of administration of these provisions, a nominal permit application fee the amount of ten dollars ($10.00) shall be provided with the application.

(13)

Each permit shall include indemnification and release language in which the applicant and all participants in the event agree to pay on behalf of the county all sums which the county shall be obligated to pay by reason of any liability imposed upon the county for damages of any kind resulting from use of the road, whether sustained by any person, caused by accident or otherwise and shall defend at its own expense and on behalf of the county any claim against the county arising out of the use of the road. Each volunteer participating in the event must complete an indemnification and release prior to the event. All indemnification and release forms must be submitted before a permit will be issued. No person may participate in an event without signing the indemnification and release form.

(14)

The application for a permit must be made in writing on such forms and in such manner as prescribed by the ordinance administrator. A complete permit application must be submitted at least ten (10) full working days prior to the date of the event. A permit application cannot be made more than ninety (90) days prior to the date of the event. All permit applications shall be treated on a first come first served basis.

(15)

Upon receipt of the application, the ordinance administrator shall have five (5) full business days to review its contents for completeness. If the application is incomplete, the ordinance administrator must notify the applicant in writing. Once the application is complete, the ordinance administrator shall then have five (5) full working days to make a final determination on the permit application.

(16)

The ordinance administrator may forward a copy of the application to the sheriff, fire marshal, and such other appropriate officials as deemed appropriate for their review and comment.

(17)

The ordinance administrator may add conditions to the permit necessary to ensure the health, safety, and welfare of the participants or the public.

(18)

The ordinance administrator may deny or revoke a permit application when one (1) or more of the following occur:

a.

The permit applicant or permittee fails to comply with any of the requirements of this section or any permit condition;

b.

The ordinance administrator determines that, by reason of disaster, public calamity, riot, or other emergency, the public safety requires denial or revocation to protect the public health, safety, and welfare;

c.

The event impedes the free flow of pedestrian or vehicle traffic in and out of private property to the road;

d.

The event will interfere with another event for which a permit has already been granted for the same date, time, and location;

e.

The applicant fails to pay the application fee;

f.

The applicant misstated any material fact in the application;

g.

There is a substantial material difference between the information in the application and the actual facts or those facts which appear reasonably to have occurred at the event.

h.

The permittee's activities would or have violated any local, state, or federal law.

(19)

Any person denied a permit application, or had their permit application revoked, shall have the right to an appeal of the ordinance administrator's determination to the county administrator. The initiation of an appeal shall be made in writing to the ordinance administrator, and a hearing held within three (3) working days thereafter. The county administrator shall use the requirements outlined in this section in deciding any appeal, and may reverse, affirm, or modify the ordinance administrator's decision.

(20)

The permit applicant must assign a competent person to attend the event and conduct frequent and regular inspections of the event location to ensure the safety of the event participants.

(21)

The competent person identified on the safety plan shall carry a copy of the permit and indemnification and release forms for all volunteers at all times and display to any law enforcement officer upon request.

(22)

The sale, assignment, or otherwise transfer of a permit is prohibited.

(Ord. No. 2011-003, § 1, 2-22-11; Ord. No. 2019-003, § 1, 2-12-19)