MIAMI — Miami’s city government is studying the possibility of taking people experiencing homelessness off the streets and moving them to a city-sponsored encampment on Virginia Key.
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. Commissioners have for years debated how to address homelessness in Miami. In recent years, 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 was the northern tip of Virginia Key, on a swath of land near the Virginia Key Outdoor Center and biking trails.
Another location on the list was 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.
The Virginia Key option has already sparked an outcry. 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,” states a post published this week on the group’s website. The group noted that there are 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.”
Commissioner Joe Carollo suggested the Virginia Key concept in 2021 as part of a series of legislative proposals related to homeless people.
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 and 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 includes cost estimates for temporary shelter options that are similar to short-term housing options other social services groups have used in other cities, from repurposed shipping containers to small cottages. The city could also create a dormitory structure.
The 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.
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