City of Miami Police officers can now arrest someone camping on a public sidewalk after a verbal warning instead of waiting 24 hours with a written notice in hand.

The Miami City Commission voted 3-2 on Wednesday, July 23, to pass an ordinance scrapping the old written-warning-and-wait process. Under the new rules, officers give a verbal warning and what the law calls a "reasonable amount of time" to move. That timeline is left entirely to the officer's discretion.

Commissioner Damian Pardo, who voted no, called the measure "a slippery slope that I'm not comfortable with." Commissioner Christine King also opposed it. Commissioners Rolando Escalona, who proposed the ordinance, Miguel Angel Gabela and Ralph Rosado voted yes. Gabela's District 2 encompasses Coconut Grove, where City of Miami Police handle enforcement.

What changes on the ground

Under the previous rules, officers had to hand someone a written notice and give them 24 hours to pack up before an arrest was possible. They could also issue a citation instead. Both options are gone.

Now, an officer who encounters someone sleeping in a tent, under cardboard or a blanket, or with belongings exceeding a 3-cubic-foot box must first verify that a shelter bed is available and offer it. If the person refuses, the officer can arrest them after giving a verbal warning and waiting a "reasonable" period. If no bed is open, no arrest can be made.

City Attorney George Wysong told commissioners the new standard means a person must clear the sidewalk "as quickly as they can remove themselves from the sidewalk and remove the obstruction at that time."

Shelter capacity questions

Whether beds will actually be available is an open question. A January 2026 point-in-time count found 605 people sleeping on Miami's streets, an 11% increase from the prior year, according to the Miami-Dade Homeless Trust. Homeless Trust Chair Ron Book told the Miami Herald in early July that an 80-bed emergency shelter in Gladeview is planned, though no opening date has been announced.

A University of Miami street survey cited during the commission discussion found 28% of respondents said they would likely refuse a shelter bed, citing safety concerns and restrictive rules inside shelters.

David Peery, director of the Miami Coalition to Advance Racial Equity, told commissioners the ordinance will "expedite and escalate arrests" and argued that incarceration worsens homelessness. Miami-Dade's corrections budget works out to $304 per inmate per day, compared with roughly $80 per day for permanent supportive housing, according to Homeless Trust estimates.

What happens next

Mayor Eileen Higgins has 10 days from the July 23 vote to sign or veto the ordinance. If she takes no action, it automatically becomes law. As of July 23, Higgins had not responded to a request for comment from the Miami Herald. The signing deadline falls around Saturday, August 2.

Residents who want to report encampment concerns or connect someone with services can call the City of Miami's 311 helpline or the Miami-Dade Homeless Trust at 305-375-1490.