ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Aaron Dietrich walks through the city he has called home for more than two decades, toward a sign that has him questioning whether he can stay any longer.

“If you’ve lived in St. Pete all your life and you see St. Pete next to Tokyo, London, Paris, you also start wondering, ‘Does that mean I still get to live here?’” said Dietrich.

The sign he is talking about compares the cost of living in those major cities to St. Petersburg.

“What we’re really saying is we want a St. Pete that is accessible for everyone,” Dietrich said.

We may soon start seeing those changes, after a 6-1 vote at St. Pete City Council Thursday night to explore rent control in the city.

“I think that’s what we’re seeing in the community here, a lot of residents, a lot of groups that have worked on a lot of different issues in the community are kind of realizing there’s an existential crisis happening, and all of our goals are secondary to that need of secure housing,” Dietrich said.

Right now, landlords are able to charge rent as they please, but this vote could change that.

If passed, the proposal would add some sort of rent control — whether it’s a price cap, freeze, or some other measure — for one year.

By Florida law, though, the only way this would be legal is if it is deemed there is a housing emergency.

City Council member Robert Blackmon, who is also a landlord, is the only council member who voted against it. He says rent control could easily backfire.

“A typical landlord is mom and pop, one or two single family homes, because that’s what the majority of our housing stock is. And if there’s rent control measures, those homes will be sold off. Which sounds like good news, allow people more options for home ownership. But what will in turn happen is, they will be quickly absorbed by the people moving into town and those who truly need the housing the most will have less options for rentals. So you’ll actually decrease the rental pool,” Blackmon said.

He worries rent control measures would also deter developers from building here.

Instead, he suggests creating a program that offers city-sponsored mortgages for people to purchase homes instead.

But one thing everyone seems to agree on — something needs to be done.

“This is a crossroads and I really believe the decisions we make now as a community will determine what community we have in the years down the road,” Dietrich said.

The advocates plan to meet regularly to determine the next steps.

They say they will hold mayor-elect Ken Welch responsible for moving forward on this after his upcoming inauguration.