Miami considering plan to move homeless people to camp on island in Biscayne Bay

Miami is studying the possibility of taking people experiencing homelessness off the streets and moving them to a city-sponsored encampment on Virginia Key, an idea that has sparked opposition from some community advocates and could imperil federal funding for countywide homeless initiatives.

Miami city commissioners on Thursday will discuss a list of five locations where the city could build a “transition zone” that would include temporary shelters and access to social services for people living on the street. According to a presentation that will be made at the meeting by the city’s department of human services, the concept resembles projects in other U.S. cities, in some cases with the help of nonprofit or religious groups. Other cities have not placed camps on islands.

Ron Book, chairman of the Miami-Dade County Homeless Trust, told the Miami Herald the agency will not support any such encampment because it does not adhere with federal guidelines tied to programs that are meant to encourage a “housing-first” philosophy to address homelessness — an approach backed by the publicly funded county agency.

“The Trust cannot support or fund any homeless encampment without jeopardizing our programs and funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development,” Book said. “They gives us $41 million a year.”

Commissioners have for years debated how to address homelessness in Miami, an often controversial topic that has led to government intervention in the past. A class-action lawsuit over police harassment of the homeless led to a federal consent decree that protected certain rights for people on the street. In recent years, following the 2019 dissolution of that decree, the city has taken steps to make it harder for people to live in public spaces, outside of a shelter.

The latest idea would have the city move homeless people away from densely populated areas such as downtown, Overtown and Little Havana. The commission asked city staff to develop a concept for a space where homeless people could be temporarily housed. The top choice recommended by City Manager Art Noriega’s staff is a northeastern swath of Virginia Key, on a stretch of land near the Virginia Key Outdoor Center and biking trails.

Another location on the list is in Liberty City, on a state-owned lot under Interstate 95, at the corner of Northwest 71st Street and Fifth Place. The land is already leased to the city.

Commissioners are expected to discuss the preliminary idea Thursday, but no vote is scheduled. A logistical analysis has not been completed, so details about transportation to and from such a development or the cost of running utility lines to the site are not available.

Even in the early idea stage, the Virginia Key option has sparked an outcry. Opponents remember the restoration that occurred there after the closing of Jimbo’s Place, a popular but rundown watering hole that preceded an improved seawall, dock and the outdoor center.

Sunny McLean, a co-founder of the Virginia Key Alliance advocacy group, said the encampment proposal conflicts with the Virginia Key Master Plan approved by the city.

“We are stunned that anyone is even proposing this location,” McLean said. “It’s a popular outdoor recreation area for Miamians, families and tourists right next to a restored and environmentally protected lagoon and beach. Why would you put an encampment for homeless people in a remote area? It’s ill-conceived and inconsiderate of the work and millions of dollars invested in that place.”

Cycling group Miami Bike Scene is organizing opposition, arguing that the location is far from ideal because of its proximity to the county sewage treatment plant, its distance from social service buildings and the amount of mosquitoes in the area.

“Also, this is not a ‘secluded location.’ The proposed location is the parking lot to the heavily trafficked Virginia Key North Point Trails,” states a post published this week on the group’s website. The group noted that there are nearby biking and walking trails that attract residents and tourists. Miami Bike Scene said it supports the Liberty City location because it is “closer to jobs, public transport, and services.”

Vinson Richter, a member of the city’s Virginia Key Advisory Board, said the board was not notified or consulted about the proposal.

“Homeless people need to be treated like human beings, and putting them next to a sewage treatment camp in a natural area where there are no services nearby to get them back on their feet does not seem to be the best location,” Richter said. “If they place them on Virginia Key, it’s out of sight, out of mind, and instead of temporary it could end up being forever.”

Commissioner Ken Russell, whose district includes Virginia Key, said he opposes the idea and the city needs to invest more in homeless services.

“We have an incredible support system of partners that need our continued investment,” Russell said. “Building our own tent city to criminalize homelessness and put them on an island is not the solution for their future or our city.”

The other options are:

▪ 2451 NW 7th Ave.

▪ Property at corner of Northwest Sixth Avenue and Sixth Street

▪ Miami Parking Authority lots under Interstate 95 in downtown, near the Miami Riverside Center and Jose Marti Park

Commissioner Joe Carollo suggested the Virginia Key concept in 2021 as part of a series of legislative proposals related to homelessness.

He drew controversy when he sponsored an ordinance that banned encampments on public property and empowered police officers to arrest homeless people if they refused to be moved to a shelter. That ordinance passed. He defended his stance, arguing that residents were complaining about homeless people blocking sidewalks, littering and leaving urine and feces in public spaces. Carollo then further sponsored a resolution to create an “adopt-a-homeless program” that would allow people he called “hypocrites” to take people in from off the street.

The presentation for Thursday includes cost estimates for temporary shelter options that are similar to short-term housing used by social service groups in other cities, from repurposed shipping containers to small cottages. The city could also create a dormitory structure.

Over the last 15 years in Pinellas County on Florida’s west coast, Catholic Charities has developed 10 acres that started as 250 tents and grew into a complex that includes offices, efficiency apartments and a library for the homeless. In Chattanooga, Tennessee, the city has allowed a nonprofit to manage a temporary encampment on a city-owned lot where dozens of people can sleep in tents. The Chattanooga project is modeled after a similar approach in Seattle.

The Miami plan comes weeks after the city was sued by advocacy groups over the treatment of people living on the street. Legal Services of Greater Miami, Southern Legal Counsel, and the American Civil Liberties Union filed a federal lawsuit accusing the city of violating constitutional rights by destroying the personal property of people experiencing homelessness during regular cleanups of encampments.