Miami Beach camping ordinance would crack down on homeless population

• The current law calls for violators to vacate the area if asked by police, and provides that they can be arrested if they refuse.
• The proposed ordinance removes the option to vacate but requires that a person with nowhere else to go be offered a spot in a shelter or help, such as reuniting with family or friends, before an officer can make an arrest.
• Offenses would be punishable by a fine up to $500 and/or 60 days in jail.

Why it matters: The city of Miami Beach had 152 unsheltered homeless people on the streets this August, per the Miami-Dade County Homeless Trust, while the county had 3,720 both sheltered and unsheltered homeless people.

• The average monthly rent in Miami Beach was $2,861 as of July, according to RentCafe.

Driving the news: Miami Beach commissioners directed the ordinance be drafted during a July meeting.

• During that meeting, Commissioner Kristen Rosen Gonzalez described complaints she'd received about a homeless man masturbating and a couple having sex in front of children in Collins Park, the Miami Herald reported.

The other side: "It is not a crime to be poor and unable to afford a home," David Peery, chair of the Miami Coalition to Advance Racial Equity (MCARE), said in an emailed action alert opposing the ordinance.

• He said homeless people would effectively be "deported" to Miami, where shelter beds are located.
• "Given that Miami's homeless population is 60 percent Black, this ordinance will create a new Jim Crow," he said.

Between the lines: In anticipation of legal challenges, the proposed ordinance was written to mimic a camping ban in Orlando that has been upheld by a federal appeals court.