South Floridians probably won’t notice anything unusual next weekend — unless baseball’s hapless Miami Marlins actually win a game. However, the calendar tells us that Sunday will mark the official start of fall, even in this subtropical region of the northern hemisphere.
South Floridians know they shouldn’t expect to see dazzling displays of autumn leaves. Instead, many will expect to see the start of the annual influx of seasonal visitors — a phenomenon that will briefly give Florida’s capital city and the South Broward town of Hallandale Beach something in common: visitors from Canada.
The Canadian visitors who manage to fly into Tallahassee have gained a local reputation as extremely inconsiderate pedestrians, brazenly halting traffic on congested thoroughfares while they cross from one side to the other. Some have even been hostile and aggressive. We’re talking about Canadian geese, for whom Tallahassee is an annual stopover on their long migration southward.
As for Hallandale Beach, it receives a different ornithological species: snowbirds. For decades the town has welcomed seasonal visitors from Quebec. During the winter months, it’s not unusual to hear French spoken around Hallandale.
Some families from Quebec have been visiting Hallandale for decades. For the most part they’re not among the province’s wealthy, who prefer visiting ski resorts in the French Alps and Switzerland rather than South Florida.
Most of Hallandale’s visitors from Quebec have been folks of more modest means who’ve managed to find affordable places to stay. The surprise they may face this winter is that the cheap, seasonal rentals they once enjoyed may be a thing of the past.
Moreover, Hallandale’s French-Canadian visitors and the town itself aren’t likely to be the only Florida interests in for a big surprise this winter. That’s because on October 1 a new state law, CS/CS/HB 1365, takes effect.
The law’s purpose is made clear in its text, which begins “An act relating to unauthorized public camping and public sleeping…”
No doubt Florida was prompted to act after witnessing the scenes from cities — notably San Francisco and Seattle — where business districts and residential neighborhoods were overrun by intrusive encampments of homeless persons.
Under this law, a Florida city or county that allows this to happen can be sued. To avoid this, they must provide “safe and secure” areas for the unhoused, with proper sanitation, running water, counseling and other amenities, all under the watchful eye of Florida’s chronically troubled Department of Children and Families.
Even though Gov. Ron DeSantis signed this bill into law on March 20, some cities and counties may yet be in for surprises when they try to comply with several of the requirements.
Also in for a surprise are some of the folks who live on the streets up north all summer, then head south as winter approaches. Sometimes there are whole families — parents, kids, even pets — seeking rides. Given recent news, it wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibility this winter to see Haitians fleeing Springfield, Ohio, to seek refuge in South Florida’s Haitian American community.
The surprise awaiting the homeless among Florida’s annual influx of seasonal visitors may occur when they receive this stern message: You cannot camp or sleep on the streets. We’ve designated places for you to stay, and you’re supposed to stay there even if you don’t like rules such as those banning alcohol and illegal drugs. Your other options: face arrest or leave the state.
Robert F. Sanchez, of Tallahassee, is a former member of the Miami Herald Editorial Board. He writes for the Herald’s conservative opinion newsletter, Right to the Point. It’s weekly, and it’s free. To subscribe, go to miamiherald.com/righttothepoint.