Rent Control Measure Moves Forward After St. Pete City Council Vote

ST. PETERSBURG, FL — Despite the tight turnaround to make it happen, a rent control referendum could land on the Nov. 8 ballot in St. Petersburg.

City councilors decided Thursday in a 4-3 vote to discuss the matter further at their Aug. 11 meeting and craft the language for a proposed referendum. If they approve the referendum following at that meeting, it will move on to a second public hearing and a final council vote — just in time to add it to the ballot for voter consideration in November.

Councilor Deborah Figgs-Sanders, who introduced the resolution, as well as Copley Gerdes, Lisa Wheeler-Bowman and Richie Floyd supported moving the measure forward.

“How can I sit up here and not vote for this, knowing that the individuals that I represent in St. Pete are sleeping outside or are about to be homeless,” Wheeler-Bowman said. “I would be ashamed of myself.”

Council Chair Gina Driscoll, Vice Chair Brandi Gabbard and Councilor Ed Montanari voted against advancing the conversation on rent control and a voter referendum. Lisset Hanewicz was absent from the meeting.

• Related Story: Rent Control Protest, City Hall Sleep-In Planned In St. Petersburg

The council’s decision comes two days after the Pinellas County Commission approved a tenants’ bill of rights. The countywide ordinance will require landlords to give advance notice of rental increases and prohibit discrimination against those using housing vouchers, the Tampa Bay Times reported. It goes into effect Oct. 3.

A similar vote to declare a housing emergency in St. Petersburg failed earlier this year amid fears that it could open the city to lawsuits from landlords. In a 3-1 vote in February, the city council’s Housing, Land Use and Transportation Committee failed to advance that discussion to the full council, according to the Times.

After an overnight protest on the steps of St. Petersburg City Hall, dozens of housing advocates spoke in favor of rent control during Thursday’s council meeting.

“The problem is landlord greed, plain and simple,” Jack Wallace, an organizer with the St. Petersburg Tenants Union, said. “Our wages crawl upward while rental rates explode.”

Danielle Scafidi, a recent graduate, told councilors that her rent increased $400 this month with no advance notice.

“We have to have a ceiling,” she said. “There’s no way the working class can afford to live like this.”

Tara Cole added, “At the bare minimum all we’re asking is put it on the ballot. Let the people vote. There’s no reason we should let Tampa and Orange County show us up. We are more progressive than them and we pride ourselves on that.”

Last week, the Tampa City Council recently voted to put rent control on the Nov. 8 ballot for a referendum vote. The Orange County Commission first considered placing such a referendum on the ballot prior to this. The county’s public hearing and final vote takes place Aug. 9.

Addressing her peers, Councilor Figgs-Sanders acknowledged the emotions that ran high during Thursday’s meeting and the circumstances that many residents face – illegal evictions, issues with housing vouchers, living in motels.

“When we come in here, there’s a reason we’re mad. There’s a reason there’s a lot of emotion,” she said. “These are the kinds of things people are facing day in and day out here. When working people come here and feel like we can’t be heard and we’ve got something that’s an emergency and we’re trying to convey that, things get a little heated.”

She added, “This isn’t about whether or not you agree with rent control, this is about letting voters decide.”

Floyd said, “I am sick of living in a world where we don’t respect people who need help the most. I cannot look at people suffering and sleeping on the street and not want to fight for them and face the ramifications if they come.”

Calling himself “very data driven,” Gerdes said, “I want to get to a place where I have enough data and I’m not there yet, but this is such an important issue.”

He supported the measure so he could research the possible referendum more before Aug. 11.

Meanwhile, Driscoll had concerns about how quickly the referendum is moving forward and how it’s being adopted.

Referencing a study by Orange County, she said it “concluded that rent control is one of many solutions but is among the least effective.”

“There comes a point in time where you just have to do what’s right. I’m not a politician. I’m going to do what is best for (residents,)” Wheeler-Bowman said, adding, “I don’t need a study to know you’re about to be homeless. I don’t need a study to tell me that you’re having to choose between paying rent and buying food.”