Miami Seashore Fee is contemplating the mayor’s 12-point plan for the leisure district

Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber is continuing his 12-point plan to reposition the South Beach Entertainment District from what he calls “anything goes.” After his comprehensive proposal failed to find consensus last July and was weakened at various stages, he is adopting a more aggressive stance to limit alcohol service hours, remove noise exemptions and expand regulations on authorizing indoor entertainment. Gelber also wants to consider banning oversized drinks and hookahs in all street cafes in the city. These items are on the Commission’s agenda this week.

In a letter to the community earlier this month after another challenging spring break that resulted in a state of emergency, Gelber asked city commissioners for assistance, but urged residents to act if the commission fails. “I know that many will be against some or all of these ideas. Many have already opposed them in previous incarnations. I hope the past few weeks will inspire our church to act. That is why I urge my fellow Commissioners and city officials to make these reforms our priority. “

“I would hope we can reach consensus on these versions but believe, if we are not ready to act, that our residents should take the initiative to include some of them in the November ballot if necessary,” wrote Yellow one.

If the commissioners cannot agree on legislative initiatives or put a point on the ballot paper for voter approval, the town charter gives residents the power to add a point to the ballot paper. To do this, a petition is required, signed by ten percent of the city’s registered voters in the last general election – 4,836 in this case.

Points to be examined at the meeting of the city commission on Wednesday:

R5A MXE Terms of Use (10:05 a.m., first reading)

Proposed changes to regulations for the Mixed Use Entertainment (MXE) district (generally the area from 5th to 16th Streets, Ocean Drive, and Collins Avenues):

• A requirement that all indoor entertainment programs require a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) review. Currently, a CUP from the planning board is not required for venues with an occupancy limit of less than 200 people. The CUP process enables the planning authority to include certain conditions in a CUP and to recall an applicant for periodic review, with the power to suspend or revoke a CUP for repeated violations.
• A stand-alone bar ban means bars must be used as an accessory to a restaurant, although there would be an exception for bars in the hotel’s indoor lobby.
• Commercial rooftop use restricted to restaurants only. (Roofs can still be used for residential, office or hotel guests.)
• Allowing craft retail and experimental retail as accessories. In a memo attached to the article, Interim City Manager Raul Aguila stated, “With retail changing rapidly, many people are looking for new and interesting experiences when visiting an area they cannot find locally. In particular, this includes finding unique, locally produced goods at the source. To make this possible there would have to be a mix of retail and low-intensity industrial production known as artisanal retail. Microbreweries are the most popular form of artisanal retail. However, there are others who make consumer goods, groceries, works of art, clothing, personal care products, and others. In such establishments, the goods are produced locally and sold to retail customers. “

Details on the proposed regulation can be found here.

C7Y Decision to examine code changes to the Street Cafe Ordinance

This point would direct the city administration and the city attorney to investigate and analyze possible changes to the city code “so that the city can better control the quality and behavior of street cafes on urban land in order to improve tourism and promote quality service , and in order to prepare the city necessary changes to the city law as soon as possible for examination by the mayor and the city commission. “One of the items proposed by Gelber is the” possible regulation and / or banning “of” the consumption of oversized alcoholic beverages and hookahs in street cafes in the city “.

Item details here.

R5N noise exemptions (first reading)

While the city code prohibits “inappropriate, excessive, unnecessary, or unusual noise,” there is an exception for amplified sound projected east from properties on 9th through 11th Streets on Ocean Drive. This regulation would remove this exemption. Affected companies are Mango’s, The Clevelander, The Palace and Ocean’s Ten.

Aguila wrote in his annexed memo: “The purpose of this amendment to the Noise Ordinance is to further reduce the negative effects of noise along Ocean Drive. Additionally, the amendment seeks to redirect the activities of alcoholic beverage establishments so that they are essentially privately owned and out of public streets and sidewalks. This in turn enables better activation of the road as well as safe and carefree movement. “

Details here.

R5O alcohol sales hours (first reading)

This ordinance would change the hours for the sale and consumption of alcoholic beverages in the MXE district south of 16th Street from 5:00 a.m. to 2:00 a.m. The change would affect 44 existing businesses, primarily located on Collins Avenue and Ocean Drive, Aguila said in the memo accompanying the article. (His memo contains a list of these facilities.)

“Over the past decade, the MXE district has seen increasing challenges related to the use of alcoholic beverages and entertainment, all of which should be secondary to the primary uses of residential or hotel properties in the district,” Aguila wrote. “Selling and consuming alcoholic beverages late at night or early in the morning has disrupted local residents, created unwanted noise, and placed significant demands on the city’s police, fire and code compliance departments.”

“In rediscovering the beauty and purpose of the National Register Architectural District and realigning urban planning priorities for the wider area, ‘rolling back’ the allowable hours for alcohol sales for local consumption is an important first step,” he wrote.

“It is important to note that the proposed 2:00 am rollback for local consumption within the MXE district is part of a multi-tiered approach. This includes updating the applicable regulations; Incentives for a renaissance of the original Ocean Drive plan; year-round programming; increased enforcement; and creating opportunities to balance vehicle and pedestrian mobility, ”concluded Aguila.

Note that the sidewalk cafe service currently has to end by 2am.

Details on the alcohol rollback proposal can be found here.

Commissioners Mark Samuelian and Michael Góngora have put a number of items on the agenda to provide additional information when the details of the Gelber proposal are discussed.

Samuelian is sponsoring a discussion (item R9V) on “The Academic Research and Current Good Practice Regarding Alcohol Selling Hours”, including a presentation by Dr. Alex Piquero, Chair of Sociology and Arts & Sciences Distinguished Scholar at the University of Miami. According to Piquero’s biography, “He has published over 400 peer-reviewed articles in the fields of criminal careers, crime prevention, criminological theory, and quantitative research methods … and has contributed to several books …”

Góngora asked Acting Public Prosecutor Rafael Paz to analyze 18 points, including:

• Comparison of Closing Hours and Hours of Alcohol Consumption in Cities in Florida
• The potential for Ocean Drive to maintain a lane (currently closed to traffic)
• What can be done to limit outdoor bar hours?
• Possible limits for the rental of charter boats
• Limits and enforcement of hotel occupancy
• Regulation and enforcement of short-term rentals

The complete memo with questions and answers (point R9AA) can be found here.

R9Y update on the design process and timeline for the implementation of the Ocean Drive and Lummus Park GO Bond projects

Gelber has requested an update to the GO Bond schedule, which includes the possible permanent pedestrian area of ​​Ocean Drive.

C2A Lummus Park Activation: Invitation to negotiate

Commissioner Steven Meiner, who has advocated family-friendly activations and programming for Lummus Park as part of the drive to change the dynamics on Ocean Drive, is sponsoring an article on the issue of an Invitation to Negotiate (ITN) to make suggestions for the Generate activations.

According to Aguila’s memo on the article, “the city is looking for nifty, family-friendly options for activating the Lummus Park loot area. The prey area is defined as the sandy space between the coral wall adjoining the park’s serpentine path and the protective sand dunes “in areas that are currently rarely or rarely used.

Proposals could include a band cover, temporary arts and cultural activities, fitness programs, mini golf course, fountains, gardens, permanent art installations, temporary fairs (including carousel or ferris wheel), additional food and drink concessions with cafe. Style seating with less than 1,500 square feet of enclosed space, movies in the park, and activities that focus on conservation, the environment and resilience and may include small nature centers.

Not welcome: carnival-like games or entertainment, inflatable bouncy castles, mechanical rides or petting zoos.

Full item details here.

Photo: Shutterstock.com