ORANGE CITY, Fla. – Orange City will institute a crackdown on panhandling in some dangerous and busy areas.
At a meeting on Tuesday, council members unanimously approved Ordinance 690, which bans solicitation in certain medians and intersections.
According to the city, there has been an increase in people soliciting in medians in the last 18 months, and hazards posed by the activity have caused concerns for the safety of people in the medians and nearby drivers.
In July of 2024, a federal judge declared Daytona Beach’s ban on panhandling unconstitutional and permanently blocked the city from enforcing the ordinance.
At the time, the judge said the ordinance was not applied evenhandedly and there were violations of the First Amendment.
“The plain language of the Ordinance at issue in this case circumscribes only solicitations for donations, but not solicitations to patronize a business, attend an event, or support a religious or social cause. Therefore, this is not a case where the government regulates all types of solicitations without regard to topic, subject matter, or viewpoint,” U.S. Judge Wendy Berger wrote.
Orange City made changes to its ordinance to focus on safety.
Under the rule, soliciting would be banned in certain medians and within 50 feet of four high-risk intersections. The locations include: Enterprise and South Volusia, Enterprise and Harley Strickland, Enterprise and Saxon, and Saxon and Veterans Memorial Parkway.
Anyone who violates the ordinance will face a fine of up to $500 or 60 days in jail.