The colony was created by a lobbyist named Ron Book, who wrote ordinances in several different Miami-Dade County cities to restrict convicted sex offenders from living within 2,500 feet (760 m) of schools, parks, bus stops, or homeless shelters.
Under that requirement, housing was possible; however, because of Book's lobbying, the Dade County Commission increased that number to 2,500 feet (760 m), thereby banishing hundreds of local citizens who then began gathering under the Julia Tuttle Causeway.
[1] Before the colony was established, the State of Florida provided sex offenders a list of locations where they could live that did not violate the boundaries set by the City of Miami, but the closest was in adjacent Broward County.
[5] Some had plumbing and cooking capacities, and residents of the colony shared generators for electricity, only used to recharge cell phones and the tracking devices they were required to wear.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) had also filed a lawsuit against the City of Miami for imposing the 2,500-foot (760 m) rule for sex offenders when the State of Florida's law restricts them to 1,000 feet (300 m) from where children congregate.
[4] The camp was under further scrutiny for being within the forbidden area; a city park on an island in Biscayne Bay caused questions about the Julia Tuttle Causeway colony's itself being in violation of the sex offender laws.
[4] Local clergyman Vincent Spann likened the camp to a Biblical leper colony and offered to house the sex offenders in a manner similar to that which he employed to treat those recovering from drug and alcohol addiction.
The trust is chaired by Ron Book, the lobbyist who helped write and pass into law the 2,500-foot (760 m) restriction, prompted by the abuse of his daughter at the hands of a hired caretaker.
[11] Throughout 2013 and 2014, evidence began to reach the news media that there was still a problem of homelessness amongst Miami-Dade sex offenders, despite the county's relaxation of the residency restrictions.
However, Book himself evicted the sex offenders from the trailer park after deciding that a nearby youth shelter was legally considered a school.
[citation needed] Now, many of the homeless sex offenders are sleeping on railroad tracks (although most have homes during the day since the Miami-Dade residency restriction only applies from 10 pm to 6 am.)
Miami-Dade County, in response to the "squalid" conditions, health hazards, and complaints from local businesses, announced that as of May 6, 2018, camping on public property will become illegal.