The Ocala City Council on Tuesday unanimously adopted a resolution that strongly encourages residents and guests to wear face coverings while indoors.
Council President Justin Grabelle and members Brent R. Malever, Ire J. Bethea and Jay A. Musleh voted for the measure. Council member Matthew Wardell, who has led the charge for the city s mask ordinance, was absent from the meeting.
City officials said the resolution is just a recommendation and has no force of law. The resolution doesn t replace the city mask ordinance, which is set to expire on April 3.
There was a provision in the mask ordinance that fined businesses $25 if someone was found not wearing a face covering. But there was no active enforcement of the ordinance. And now that Gov. Ron DeSantis has outlawed such fines, that part of the ordinance is moot, anyway.
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Tuesday, February 16, 2021 by Joe Byrnes (WMFE)
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An excerpt from Ocala s open lodging ordinance cited in a federal lawsuit.
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The Ocala City Council on Tuesday will consider changing its open lodging ordinance after a federal judge found part of it unconstitutional.
The American Civil Liberties Union and others sued the city on behalf of three men for “criminalizing homelessness.”
The ACLU of Florida says the men had been arrested repeatedly. One had spent 219 days in jail and was assessed more than four-thousand dollars on 10 counts of violating the ordinance.