By: Emma Page
On September 13, 2023, Miami Beach City Commissioners voted 4-3 in favor of a proposed amendment[1] to their city code which makes it unlawful to sleep or inhabit a temporary shelter in public spaces, directly providing homeless members of the community with stricter regulations.[2] The proposed amendment was co-sponsored by Mayor Dan Gelber, Commissioner Kristen Rosen-Gonzalez, and Commissioner Alex Fernandez. This first reading marks the beginning of the proposal’s legislative process. A second reading, accompanied by a public hearing, is scheduled for October 18, 2023, which must occur before the proposal can progress to become law. Notably, the City of Miami Beach has an existing anti-camping ordinance in place.[3] This ordinance mandates that individuals must receive a warning from law enforcement officers before any arrests can be made, offering them an opportunity to relocate and avoid legal consequences. The proposed amendment eliminates this warning provision.
To begin, it is important to note that this regulation does not address the underlying causes of homelessness, which was acknowledged by both Commission meeting attendants and members. Those who voiced their opposition to the proposal included Professor Stephen Schnably, a University of Miami law professor and ACLU cooperating attorney, as well as two members from the University of Miami School of Law’s Human Rights Clinic. Joining them were Professor Matthew Marr, a sociology professor at Florida International University, a representative from MCARE, and several concerned community members. Additionally, Commissioners Ricky Arriola, David Richardson, and Laura Dominguez voted against adopting the ordinance.
This ordinance will likely have negative consequences on the community. Although prohibiting sleeping in public may alter the outward appearance of homelessness, it does not bring about substantial, lasting change or address the root causes of the issue. This ordinance appears to prioritize the aesthetic aspects of Miami Beach neighborhoods over the fundamental human rights of the vulnerable individuals living within them. Rather than helping individuals in dire situations, Miami Beach has decided to criminalize their life-sustaining activities further. David Peery, the executive director of the Miami Coalition to Advance Racial Equity, told Local 10 News, “No city has ever arrested its way out of homelessness, and Miami Beach will not be the first. Homelessness is a housing and social services matter, not a criminal justice issue.”[4]
Additionally, incarcerating individuals experiencing homelessness will only compound the challenges they already face. Unsheltered homelessness inherently leads to heightened interactions with the justice system.[5] Black, Indigenous, and Latinx people are also overrepresented in this group because of systemic racism in housing and criminal justice systems.[6] Furthermore, having an arrest on one’s record makes it more difficult for the person to access housing, employment, and public benefits.[7]
In January of 2019, Miami Beach took the initiative to hire its own municipal prosecutors to target individuals who violate the City’s nuisance laws.[8] The program seemingly focuses on offenses like drinking in public, camping, and entering parks after hours. In 2019, the Miami Herald found that two-thirds of the team’s cases involved homeless defendants.[9] Over the past five years, the program has expanded its scope. With the passage of the amended ordinance, law enforcement will have additional cause to arrest.
The entire community will feel the effects of this ordinance. Arrests are costly for community budgets.[10] By arresting for homelessness, all community members suffer.
Ultimately, if challenged, courts may view the Ordinance to be an unconstitutional provision. When this legislation was introduced in July, Assistant City Attorney Rob Rosenwald emphasized that the most legally defensible strategy for drafting this ordinance involved incorporating terms nearly identical to the City of Orlando anti-camping ordinance, which was upheld by the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit in Joel v. City of Orlando, 232 F.3d 1353 (11th Cir. 2000).[11] However, there crucial distinctions between the City of Miami Beach and Orlando.
In Joel v. City of Orlando, Orlando had a downtown shelter that never reached capacity. Miami Beach, with its considerable resources, does not have a homeless shelter within its city limits. While the City does have agreements with Miami shelters reserving around 50 beds for their residents,[12] there are 152 residents experiencing homelessness in Miami Beach.[13] Therefore, the lack of available shelter beds means that homeless individuals in Miami Beach are forced to choose between relocation and arrest, two extremely harmful options for already vulnerable individuals. As stated by Professor Schnably, the ordinance sends a brutal message that, “if you are homeless, then you need to get out of town or be arrested.”[14]
Forcing individuals into shelter comes with its own set of challenges. Shelters often have strict guidelines for entry, only offer 24-hour beds, and may not provide storage for the individual’s personal property.[15] Therefore, shelter entry for most homeless individuals will leave them back on the street, without their belongings, the very next day. Additionally, shelters may be dangerous and violent places to reside.[16] For individuals experiencing mental health difficulties or substance dependency, shelters may not offer adequate support or resources.
Ultimately, the remedy for addressing homelessness in Miami Beach does not entail enacting additional measures that criminalize essential life activities, nor does it solely hinge on the construction of a homeless shelter. To genuinely resolve this issue, Miami Beach must prioritize the development and allocation of resources for affordable housing, along with comprehensive mental health, rehabilitation, educational, and employment support services for its homeless residents. The Housing First approach stands as the only proven solution to homelessness,[17] and it’s an initiative the City of Miami Beach has yet to adopt.
[1] Rafael A. Paz, Commission Memorandum, City of Miami Beach (Sept. 13, 2023), 1610-1615, (attached: https://www.local10.com/news/local/2023/09/13/futile-effort-homeless-advocates-decry-proposed-miami-beach-camping-ban/).
[2] Ted Scouten, Miami Beach approves new plan to deal with the homeless, CBS News Miami (Sept. 14, 2023), https://www.cbsnews.com/miami/news/miami-beach-approves-new-plan-for-homeless/.
[3] Miami Beach, Fla., Rev. Ordinances ch. 70, § 45 (2002). [https://library.municode.com/fl/miami_beach/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=SPAGEOR_CH70MIOF].
[4] Christina Vazquez, ‘Futile effort’: Homeless advocates decry proposed Miami Beach camping ban, WPLG Local 10 News (Sept. 14, 2023), https://www.local10.com/news/local/2023/09/13/futile-effort-homeless-advocates-decry-proposed-miami-beach-camping-ban/.
[5] Sarah Gillespie, Samantha Batko, Ben Chartoff, Zach VeShancey, and Emily Peiffer, Five Charts That Explain the Homelessness-Jail Cycle—and How to Break It, Urban Institute (Sept. 16, 2020), https://www.urban.org/features/five-charts-explain-homelessness-jail-cycle-and-how-break-it.
[6] Id.
[7] Jaboa Lake, Preventing and Removing Barriers to Housing Security for People with Criminal Convictions, Center for American Progress (Apr. 14, 2021), https://www.americanprogress.org/article/preventing-removing-barriers-housing-security-people-criminal-convictions/.
[8] Joey Flechas, Tired of nuisance crimes going unpunished? Miami Beach is about to crack down, Miami Herald (Jan. 3, 2018), https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/miami-beach/article192826269.html.
[9] Kyra Gurney, Tourists are rarely jailed for breaking Miami Beach laws. Not so for the homeless., Miami Herald (Jan. 18, 2019), https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/miami-beach/article224019710.html .
[10] National Prevention Science Coalition, Fact Sheet: Cost of Homelessness, National Alliance to End Homelessness (Apr. 6, 2016), https://www.npscoalition.org/post/fact-sheet-cost-of-homelessness .
[11] Joel v. City of Orlando, 232 F.3d 1353 (11th Cir. 2000).
[12] Aaron Leibowitz, Miami Beach gives initial approval to outdoor sleeping crackdown, despite objections, Miami Herald (Sep. 14, 2023), https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/miami-beach/article279297349.html.
[13] August Homeless Trust Census Results and Comparison, Miami-Dade County Homeless Trust, https://www.homelesstrust.org/resources-homeless/library/august-pit-census-2023.pdf .
[14] Aaron Leibowitz, Miami Beach gives initial approval to outdoor sleeping crackdown, despite objections, Miami Herald (Sep. 14, 2023), https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/miami-beach/article279297349.html.
[15] Id.
[16] Alana Sherman, The unspoken violence in shelters, Whitman Wire (May 5, 2022), https://whitmanwire.com/opinion/2022/05/05/the-unspoken-violence-in-shelters/.
[17] Housing First, National Alliance To End Homelessness (Mar. 20, 2022), https://endhomelessness.org/resource/housing-first/.
