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A shelter for individuals could be a year away from completion, and while short-term family shelters are being prepared, they are at least several months away. Meanwhile, pressures are growing to do something sooner. In January, city police were called to 1003 N. Washington Blvd. by Valerie Guillory to inves- tigate a burglary on property she leases, which she calls Trinity without Borders. She initially rented the property to provide a "sanctuary" for the homeless, but she was dissuaded from starting up a tent city by city officials and then Marbut. But the tent city evolved anyway. She also complained about criminal and health issues in a homeless and vagrant camp located adjacent to her leased property. It is near a stand of bamboo at the end of 10th Way, adjacent to the Oakland Park Cemetery. According to a police memo, she complained of "drinking, drugs, fights, prostitution and sexual batteries" in the campsite. A physical examination turned up about 30 tents and as many as 70 people on the property. ENTER THE POTTINGER CASE A federal court case filed in 1988 by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) in Miami has come to be a guideline on how cit- ies must handle homelessness and vagrancy. It has bounced back and forth among inter- pretations (and is still bouncing), but its meaning is clear: You cannot arrest somebody if the person is doing what can be considered life-sustaining activities. For example, if there is no shelter available, police cannot arrest people for sleeping on the street if the people are not causing an obstruction. If there is no public toilet within a quarter of a mile, arrest for exposure or public urination is banned. And the case made city commissioners personally liable for ordinances that mandated police violate the so-called Pottinger Protocol. City Commissioner Susan Chapman argues against a city shelter during the Feb. 18 City Commission meeting. Photo by Norman Schimmel Sarasota News Leader March 21, 2014 Page 31