Statewide shutdown brings end to Sarasota stay-at-home debate

Gov. Ron DeSantis announced today he is issuing a statewide stay-at-home order designed to limit the spread of COVID-19, directing Florida residents to stay at home except for specifically designated essential activities.

The order, effective Friday, brought closure to a debate in Sarasota about whether local governments should shut down nonessential businesses and instruct the public to shelter in place. City and county officials expressed differing philosophies about how to approach that question, highlighting a challenge for leaders coordinating a regional response to an evolving public health emergency.

A week before DeSantis’ announcement, Sarasota Mayor Jen Ahearn-Koch sent the governor a letter urging him to issue a stay-at-home order for all of Florida. Ahearn-Koch vocally advocated for the type of lockdown policies that had already been undertaken in other states and countries, encouraging local leaders to take the step if the state would not.

“There is a strong message in that,” Ahearn-Koch said. “I think that’s where we’re going to save lives, in that message. I am spending a lot of my time trying to get this in place for the city of Sarasota, for the county, for the state.”

Until today, those efforts were unsuccessful. DeSantis previously declined to issue a statewide shelter-in-place order, expressing a preference to allow county- and city-level officials to craft policies specific to their communities.

Earlier this week, City Manager Tom Barwin said he was considering issuing a local shutdown order. One reason he had not yet moved forward with the decision: City Attorney Robert Fournier said such an order would be more effective if it came from the county, the leading jurisdiction for coordinating emergency response to the coronavirus.

The county, meanwhile, questioned whether it could even legally issue such an order even after other governments in the state had taken the same step. In a March 19 memo, County Attorney Frederick Elbrecht said the county does not have the explicit authority to close private businesses or institute curfews during emergencies, a power he said was restricted to the governor.

Although the county closed public beaches and prohibited large gatherings on property it owns, it followed the lead of higher authorities when it came to more restrictive isolation measures. At a news conference Monday, county officials urged the public to voluntarily comply with state and federal advisories related to COVID-19. Asked what circumstances might lead to a shelter-in-place order for Sarasota, County Commissioner Mike Moran said officials were focused on following the proper chain of command.

County Administrator Jonathan Lewis said he did not believe it was necessary to issue a local safer-at-home order similar to those Hillsborough and Pinellas counties implemented before the statewide shutdown. Lewis characterized those orders, which direct residents to stay at home when not engaged in essential activities, as simply emphasizing guidelines already issued at the state and county levels. The Hillsborough and Pinellas orders mandate the closure of any nonessential businesses and explicitly define what is considered essential, measures not established statewide or in Sarasota until today.

Lewis said Monday he felt a similar order was not needed in Sarasota.

“Here in Sarasota County, we believe our residents are smart, competent people and they’re making good choices every day,” Lewis said.

Ahearn-Koch thought the vast majority of Sarasota residents were following guidelines for limiting the spread of COVID-19, but she believed additional action was necessary to target activity she feared could serve as a conduit for the disease. She said she wasn’t alone, citing emails from constituents supportive of more local restrictions.

“A lot of people are reaching out to me, asking — how can the barber comply?” Ahearn-Koch said. “How can the nail salon comply? I go to the grocery store and people are still on top of each other. … A lot of the people are complying. It’s the 20% that aren’t that are worrisome.”

Rule of law

Elbrecht’s trepidation about the county’s legal standing to implement shelter-in-place orders didn’t stop other local governments from taking action. Counties including Miami-Dade and Broward, located in the region where the majority of Florida COVID-19 cases have been identified, implemented their own shutdown orders in March that went beyond the restrictions in place across the state.

Elbrecht said governments adopting more stringent regulations than those DeSantis had established justified their action using their broad authority to protect public health, safety and welfare. Fournier also said it would be legally defensible under the State Emergency Management Act, which allows local governments to establish “orders and rules as are necessary for emergency management purposes.”

Still, Elbrecht said there’s no clear legal precedent authorizing local governments to take emergency actions closing businesses or establishing curfews. As a result, he said it was uncertain what legal ramifications may come if the county pursued similar measures. If officials were interested in moving in that direction, he said there should be a specific, articulable threat to Sarasota County requiring a response beyond what the governor has already implemented.

Although Elbrecht’s memo left open the possibility of the county pursuing its own shutdown policies, at a March 24 County Commission meeting, he agreed with an elected official who suggested the power ultimately lies with the governor unless explicitly granted to the county.

“To sum that up, basically, it’s the governor’s decision,” Commissioner Christian Ziegler said.

“Correct,” Elbrecht responded.

Fournier agreed there’s not an unquestionable legal right for local governments to establish shutdown provisions. But although he said there could be legal challenges and enforcement issues, he thinks the city does have the authority to implement a shelter-in-place order under emergency conditions.

“It has not happened to date, I think, due in part to the belief that such an order would be more effective if it came from a higher level of government so that it would have a broader application and also because of the city's legal obligation to coordinate emergency response efforts with other governmental authorities to the maximum extent it is able to do so,” Fournier wrote in an email.

Containment strategies

At Monday’s news conference, Sarasota County officials repeatedly urged residents to follow orders the state has issued and abide by sanitary and social distancing guidelines form the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“It’s important the community understands we’ll continue to educate before we enforce, but we’re also placing responsibility in the hands of our residents,” Sheriff Tom Knight said. “Simply put: Please just stay at home, if you can.”

City leaders questioned whether it was sufficient to ask residents to follow the rules. The city took at least one local regulatory step the county did not, closing boat ramps Sunday after Manatee County and the town of Longboat Key did the same. Barwin said the city did this in part because of the Tenth Street Boat Ramp’s proximity to a Publix, framing the closure as a way to limit the potential exposure of COVID-19 to an essential business.

“It is a free country, and if you want to go out and take health risks, I guess it’s up to you, but there is a bigger community interest when you go back inland and can transmit the disease to others,” Barwin said.

The county did not make an official available for interview about its COVID-19 response ahead of publication or answer a series of questions the Sarasota Observer submitted related to emergency decision-making.

Despite differing philosophies about a stay-at-home order, both Ahearn-Koch and Barwin said there has been productive regional coordination during the COVID-19 response. Barwin expressed hope intergovernmental relationships would remain strong as Sarasota continues to pursue strategies for limiting the spread of the coronavirus.

“We do not need or want rifts and major disagreements on any phase of this,” Barwin said. “We need everything to depoliticize and focus on the public health aspect of this.”