Small homes. Safe parking lots. Many ideas emerge to help the homeless in Palm Beach County.

Use a former hotel to serve as temporary housing.

Build small cottage homes, or even use shipping containers.

Designate “safe parking lots,” where people living in their cars could park.

These and many more ideas to help the homeless were raised for consideration in Palm Beach County on Tuesday as county officials brainstormed for much-needed solutions. Homelessness has remained a key issue ahead of a new state law kicking in.

The law, which takes effect Oct. 1, will ban Florida’s homeless from sleeping in public spaces such as in parks, bus stops, on the beach and on sidewalks.

“We as a county are faced with some daunting challenges,” Palm Beach County Mayor Maria Sachs said during a workshop Tuesday.

While the law takes effect next week, there’s still one more key date next year: Beginning on Jan. 1, noncompliance could mean that a county or municipality risks legal action from residents, businesses, or the attorney general who could make a written complaint.

The bill, signed in March by Gov. Ron DeSantis, also was touted as a way to provide the homeless greater access to services. According to a news release from DeSantis’ office this year, the law “requires counties to ensure that homeless individuals receive the mental health and drug addiction services they need.” It also keeps homeless encampments from intruding on the state’s “citizens or undermine their quality of life,” the news release said.

In recent months, many cities and counties in Florida have taken steps to try to comply with the law, while many local elected officials have complained it has brought on a burden.

“So we send our money up to Tallahassee, and they don’t send it back to help us with this,” Palm Beach County Commissioner Gregg Weiss said during Tuesday’s workshop. “And yet they created legislation, maybe rightfully so, but they created legislation that’s going to impact us and basically tell you, ‘You’re on your own?’”

Officials from the Palm Beach County Community Services department discussed how the state distributed $10 million to each of Florida’s 67 counties toward the “unsheltered,” and the county’s share is a little more than $600,000.

For example, the potential plan for the county to buy a 114-bed former La Quinta Inn on Okeechobee Boulevard and use it as a housing opportunity could cost the county about $15 million if the plan were to advance, though Mayor Sachs said she needed more time to consider the deal.

The county is considering other ideas as well, including to:

— Maximize the use of 30 available Salvation Army beds at the Center of Hope along Military Trail, which costs $100 per day or $18,250 for six months, according to Salvation Army Maj. Leisa Hall, the area commander.

— Increase capacity at the Phillip D. Lewis Center, which is a homeless resource center.

— Collaborate with the West Palm Beach Housing Authority to operate the Prosperity Village Cottage Homes Project, which will be 17 single-family homes and one community building ranging from 950 to 1,200 square feet in Lake Worth Beach. It is set for completion before the end of the year, according to the county.

— Work with faith-based organizations to identify any available land to build more affordable housing or designating a parking lot belonging to an entity of that nature as a safe place for people to park and sleep overnight.

During the workshop, county officials also discussed the possibility of communal living spaces, the encouragement of room sharing and reusing shipping containers for housing. Prior to the meeting, Sachs had distributed a memo discussing the benefits of tiny houses, which are often faster and cheaper in comparison to construction of housing or shelters, according to the memo.

A 2024 point-in-time count, which determines how many people are experiencing homelessness on a single day, found that more than 2,000 people were unhoused in Palm Beach County. This is a nearly 15% increase from the 2023 point-in-time count, according to the county’s community services.

“The cure for homelessness is very simple,” said Ezra Krieg, who is part of the county’s Homeless and Housing Alliance, during the meeting’s public comment. “It’s getting heads in beds.”

But how that happens is where Palm Beach County officials and others around the state are getting stuck.

“This is not just Palm Beach, it is not just Florida, this is the entire country,” Sachs said. “Go to any great American city and you’ll find people sleeping under bridges, families huddled in cars. This is an issue. It’s a crisis.”