MIAMI ā A pilot program aimed at providing shelter for homeless people in Miami was voted down by commissions on Thursday.
Until it wasnāt.
In a 3 to 2 vote, the Miami City Commission rejected a plan that would have built 50 to 100 mini homes on Virginia Key as a homeless shelter community.
But shortly after the vote, the plan was brought back to life, and passed.
One of the three commissions who initially voted no, Alex Diaz de la Portilla, changed his mind and instead voted yes.
Dubbed a ātransformation and transition zone,ā District 3 Commissioner Joe Carollo spearheaded the plan. Heās led a crusade to rid Miami of tent cities.
While the number of people living on Miami streets has dropped, their visibility has been raised as the city began clearing and fencing more out-of-the-way locations.
Opposition centered not around finding a place to shelter Miamiās homeless population, but the āoptimalā location identified under the plan: Virginia Key.
āNobody wants the homeless in their backyard,ā Carollo said before the vote. āSo itās going to have to, by default, I think, go to Virginia Key.ā
District 4 Commissioner Manolo Reyes said the encampment would have been ātotally independentā and ānot in a shelter full of people.ā
Speakers at Thursdayās meeting were incensed over the proposal.
āWhy did the public learn about this on Tuesday night through social media?ā one asked.
Another called Virginia Key an āenvironmentally sensitiveā area.
District 2 Commissioner Ken Russell was also critical of the plan.
āNobodyās talking about what is the proper solution for homelessness,ā Russell said. āTheyāre discussing which location we should have an encampment.ā
District 5 Commissioner Christine King, however, supported the proposed zone.
āThis is where theyāll have a safe place to be,ā she said.
Russell, Reyes and District 1 Commissioner Alex DĆaz de la Portilla voted against the proposal, while Carollo and King voted in favor.
Commissioners will consider other possible sites in September.