ORLANDO, Fla. — Orlando city leaders say they are looking at changes to help address safety in the downtown area.

On Monday, Orlando City Council will be voting on a proposed ordinance that will amend part of the city code to include additional language saying anyone who blocks a public street or sidewalk by walking, standing, siting or lying on it, can be charged with disorderly conduct if a police officer tells them to move and they refuse.

Police representatives say the ordinance stems from complaints by local businesses.

In response to the proposed ordinance, the Homeless Services Network of Central Florida said there's no doubt that if it passes, it will disproportionately impact the homeless population.

“We definitely support safe neighborhoods and communities, and we understand that dynamic, but we also recognize that when you criminalize being homeless, that is not an ultimate solution,” Homeless Services Network CEO Martha Are said.

At J Henry’s barbershop in the Parramore community, the ordinance sparked a riveting discussion Friday afternoon.

“I see a lot of homeless, and it seems to me every day is getting worse,” said Henry, who owns the shop.

Henry is at a temporary location — his business has been along Parramore Avenue for the last two years after his barbershop caught fire in November of 2021. He says he was once homeless, sleeping in a car, but now he’s a licensed barber and owns a business. 

Henry said he has noted the number of unhoused individuals he has seen living on the streets and sidewalks.

“Families grouped together under tents, sheets, cardboard boxes doing the best they can to survive, and it's real sad,” he said.

He thinks Orlando's proposed ordinance is a double-edged sword.

“It may help bring or promote more business to the neighborhoods,” he said.

On the other hand, he says it can create a problem because arresting someone because they have nowhere to go should not be the way to go.

“Making somebody leave or move, a homeless person, homeless person? Where they going to go?" he said. "To another neighborhood and do the same thing? They can’t go home because they don’t have a home."

Greg Maye, who was getting his hair cut, said homelessness will be an issue until the underlying problem is addressed.

“When is the question going to address what are you doing to get the homeless people off the street? What community programs do you have?" he said. "Once again, we’re putting a Band-Aid on something when we ain’t got no solution for the problem."

Are said her nonprofit is already working on ways to let people experiencing homelessness know and how they can avoid being arrested, and how to navigate the new ordinance, if passed.

The ordinance will receive a first reading on Monday, but cannot be passed until a second reading takes place at a future meeting.

Are said her group hopes to use the situation to highlight the need for more shelters and affordable housing in the area.

“You're criminalizing homelessness, and that's not the direction that the community needs to go,” she said. “Arrest records never help when you're trying to get back into housing, so it can actually be counter counterproductive.”

Spectrum News asked the Orlando Police Department for clarification on the ordinance. The department responded with the following statement:

“This proposed ordinance seeks to clarify how officers can enforce the law to help curb these actions and reduce these instances. The proposed ordinance will allow officers anywhere in the city to take immediate action against anyone who is intentionally trying to limit another person's movement on the sidewalks or to force them to walk into the street to avoid the obstruction, which is inherently dangerous.”