Residents of a homeless camp on 20th Street in Marathon will be forced to vacate the area after a new request from the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT), numerous city and county officials announced on Jan. 28.
For years, the camp has served as a lightning rod for debate over how best to handle and serve Marathon’s homeless population. However, as city officials have repeatedly stated, though it falls within the confines of the city, the 20th Street road and right of way are FDOT property.
The new decision, relayed by City Attorney Steve Williams at Marathon’s Tuesday workshop session and confirmed through a Jan. 29 press release from the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, means camp residents will have until Friday, Jan. 31 to leave the property, as sheriff’s office deputies began distributing 48-hour notices to vacate on Wednesday morning.
A memo sent from FDOT District 6 Secretary Stacy Miller to Sheriff Rick Ramsay on Jan. 27 authorized sheriff’s office personnel to order camp residents to leave, along with “No Trespassing” signs to be installed by the city of Marathon.
As of Tuesday night, two city-supplied portable restrooms and a Dumpster had been removed from the camp, along with the installation of the signs. By Wednesday morning, one bathroom had been replaced at the camp.
“The sheriff’s office is going to be enforcing the no trespassing, and then Marathon is going to clean up the site,” FDOT District 6 public information officer Maria Higgins Fallon told the Weekly by phone on Jan. 28.
A long-term maintenance protocol for the area has yet to be determined, as conflicting communications from city, county and FDOT officials obtained by the Weekly have questioned the entity responsible for day-to-day management of the property.
“We will honor (FDOT’s) request in a way that is legal, efficient and humane,” said Ramsay in a press release, adding that deputies will provide campers with information pamphlets and contact information for available local resources.
The clearout comes just days after the filing of a lawsuit, signed by nearly 40 Marathon residents and businesses, against the city of Marathon for alleged violations of HB-1365, a new 2024 law that essentially banned homeless camping throughout the state of Florida.
According to the law, cities may designate properties for homeless camping for one-year periods, but must certify the area through the Florida Department of Children and Families by satisfying a laundry list of conditions, many of which by definition would rule out most properties in Marathon.
“The lawsuit filtered its way through the channels and made it up to FDOT, and allegedly all the way to the governor’s office,” Williams told the city council on Tuesday night, later confirming to the Weekly by phone that city staff will assist with the immediate cleanup of the area.
Marathon captain Morgan Gotti, the principal author of the suit, told the Weekly by phone on Wednesday morning that she expected roughly half of the suit’s plaintiffs to withdraw their names once the camp is removed.
“Simply removing the encampment is part of what we want,” she said. “But we do want to see the city take some responsibility and help these people. Let’s help them do whatever they need to do to recover or move on in life. … There are different solutions for every person in this world.”
Other conflicting communications provided to the Weekly by Gotti and Williams called into question whether all of the suit’s plaintiffs knew that they were signing onto a formal lawsuit, rather than a more informal petition to remove the camp.
One such email, read by Williams to the council on Tuesday night, stated that one of the suit’s plaintiffs “agreed to be a witness, or better yet to provide support,” but that she was “not interested in being a plaintiff,” before requesting withdrawal of her name. However, copies of an email sent from Gotti to interested parties prior to the suit requested signatures “as a plaintiff” for the complaint.
Cudjoe Key resident Lorenzo Chiango, a longtime volunteer and advocate for 20th Street’s residents, applauded the work of city and MCSO staff in recent months to maintain order in the camp, but blasted the lack of “a solid plan” to accommodate residents leaving the street, even in light of legal restrictions that constrain the city’s response.
“You were given a direction from the governor that was impossible,” Chiango said. “(But) we can’t just turn our eyes and say ‘Thank God the state got involved and now we don’t have to deal with this.’ … Are you guys going to tell me that there’s nothing we can do, nothing we’re capable of, no resources that we can use, to make sure we don’t treat these people like yesterday’s bath water?”
“You can do whatever you’d like,” said Williams.
“You’ve heard our attorney talk about this, and this is a conversation that everyone of us has had internally,” said Mayor Lynn Landry.
“It’s not our property, it’s not our decision, and the legalities that fall behind supporting it far surpass what I think you can imagine it would be,” said councilman Kenny Matlock.
