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New Florida law on public camping puts Fort Lauderdale on short timeline to find regional solutions
Summary
City attorneys and commissioners outlined obligations and concerns after the governor signed a law prohibiting overnight public camping; the statute will take effect Oct. 1 and could trigger court enforcement Jan. 1 unless counties and cities identify approved sites and services.
Fort Lauderdale officials spent an extended portion of the April 2 commission meeting parsing a new State of Florida law that will restrict overnight public camping and sleeping on public property and obliges local governments to plan for certified shelter sites where beds are insufficient.
City Attorney Tom briefed the commission on the law’s key points: beginning Oct. 1 municipalities may not authorize “regular” overnight public camping or sleeping in public spaces and, if counties lack sufficient shelter beds, county governments may designate DCF‑certified sites (which must provide restrooms, running water, security, behavioral‑health access and maintenance). The statute allows enforcement actions beginning Jan. 1: after five days’ notice a resident, business owner or the state attorney general may seek an injunction and recover attorney’s fees if the local government fails to comply.
"Cities and counties may not authorize or allow any person to regularly engage in public camping or sleeping on any public property," the city attorney summarized, adding that the Department of Children and Families will have a role certifying potential sites. Tom said Broward County and cities must coordinate quickly because the statute’s timeline is short and legal exposure for noncompliance could be costly.
Commissioners urged immediate regional talks. Commissioner Herbst warned that the county’s traditional approach of transporting arrested or released people to downtown Fort Lauderdale has created local concentrations of unsheltered people and said the county, hospitals and jail systems should be brought to the table to avoid a single city bearing most of the burden.
Public commenters and several commissioners noted prior local attempts to identify congregate or temporary sites (for example, a former “stockade” facility) that either were refused by the county or proved impractical. Speakers stressed the complexity of selecting locations that do not abut residential areas or child‑centered facilities, and emphasized that a site must be DCF‑certified and provide sanitation, security and behavioral‑health services.
Commissioners requested the city attorney and manager accelerate outreach to the Broward County attorney, law enforcement and social‑services partners, and asked the city’s homelessness task force to prioritize solutions before the October deadline. No immediate ordinance was adopted at the conference meeting; staff said they are preparing options and will report back with recommended next steps.
