St. Pete moves forward with plans to privatize BayWalk sidewalk

Despite protests earlier in the day from a black activist group, homeless advocates and the American Civil Liberties Union, the city council voted this morning to go ahead with the potential privatization of the sidewalk that fronts BayWalk, the downtown retail and entertainment complex.

Two public hearings have to be conducted before a decision is made.

The new owners of the troubled complex have told city officials that, to succeed, they need to be able to manage the flow of pedestrians to BayWalk.

Crucial to that management is the power to oversee a stretch of sidewalk on the north part of Second Avenue North, between First and Second streets, which serves as the entrance to BayWalk, CW Capital has told city officials.

The sidewalk, however, historically has been used by protestors, particularly the International People's Democratic Uhuru Movement, a black activist group.

Mike MacGregor of CW Capital told the council that privatizing the sidewalk is a "deal-breaker," meaning that without it the owners would not go through with plans to spend up to $6 million revitalizing the property. CW Capital needs the sidewalk to attract the right tenants, and one city council member noted that BayWalk businesses back CW Capital's plans.

City council voted 7-1 to go ahead with the process. The sole city council member to vote no was Wengay Newton, who is also the only black city council member.

When BayWalk opened in 2000, it was seen as an unqualified success, attracting 3 million to 3.5 million visitors a year, city officials say. But in recent years, it has been plagued by a range of problems: increased competition from nearby eateries and bars on Beach Drive, a newly refurbished mall in Pinellas Park, an economic recession and perceived security issues at the complex.

The proposed privatization of the sidewalk is a small part of the $6 million project to bring BayWalk back from the dead. Many storefronts are empty, and privately many people say large groups of young people, most of them black, who go to the Muvico movie complex at BayWalk dissuade them from patronizing the area.

"BayWalk owners reported that they received numerous complaints from their tenants and customers that pedestrian access to the Center was impeded by large crowds of young people and other stationary groups of people with and leading to the complex," Rick Mussett, city development administrator, wrote in a July 14 memorandum to Mayor Rick Baker.

"Former customers often complained that rather than confront 'the human gauntlet' just to get into BayWalk or walk through the BayWalk courtyard to attend the movie theaters, they would seek alternative dining, shopping and entertainment venues," Mussett wrote.

Privatizing the sidewalk is considered a security measure, and there are others that are part of the revitalization plan: better lighting in the BayWalk garage and putting the location from which officers patrol on Segways in the garage. Many patrons park in the garage and then walk from it to the Second Avenue North entranceway.

Earlier today, a bevy of groups - the ACLU, the Uhurus and activists representing the homeless - gathered outside city hall to denounce the privatization plan.

Nigel Watson, who is on the board of the Pinellas County chapter of the ACLU, read a letter by an ACLU attorney that said such a move is constitutionally indefensible.

In essence, privatizing the sidewalk would preclude people from gathering there to protest and infringes on their First Amendment rights to free speech, Watson said.

Also opposing the move was Bruce Wright, who heads two groups representing the homeless. To him, the plan is merely another effort to force the homeless out of downtown. The city would continue privatizing formerly public spaces to reduce the number of locations where the homeless could gather, he said.

"It's our right to be there," said Dwight Lawton of Veterans for Peace.

Ed Helm, the sole mayoral candidate who was with the protestors, said it was questionable whether the BayWalk owners could stop protestors from gathering on the sidewalk even if it were private because it would still be a perceived public space.