South Beach bars with early morning liquor licenses can resume serving until 5 a.m. after the city announced late Tuesday that it would no longer enforce a 2 a.m. ban on selling and consuming alcohol in its South Beach entertainment district .
The announcement came a day after Miami-Dade District Court judge Beatrice Butchko issued a restraining order to the Clevelander hotel preventing the City of Miami Beach from stopping the liquor service in the Ocean Drive store for the duration of the lawsuit to restrict.
The Clevelander sued the city last month over the new law passed on May 22nd. The ban applies to businesses licensed to serve alcohol by 5:00 a.m. in the city’s mixed-use entertainment district, also known as MXE, along Ocean Drive and Collins Avenues from 5th to 16th streets in South Beach.
The city appealed the order to the Third District Court of Appeals on Tuesday, triggering an automatic suspension of the order. Butckho waived Tuesday at the Clevelander’s request.
“With immediate effect, the city will NOT enforce the 2am ban on the sale / service / consumption of alcohol because the court has issued an injunction and vacated the residence,” a city spokeswoman said in a statement to the Miami Herald on Tuesday evening . “As such, the alcoholic beverage establishments in the MXE (Clevelander and all others) with 5 o’clock alcohol licenses can sell / serve alcoholic beverages again until 5 o’clock in the morning / allow customers to consume alcoholic beverages.”
In her order, Butchko said the 2am ban was “improperly enacted” because the city commission passed the law with four out of seven commissioners in favor, instead of the five required to approve zone changes.
Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber said Tuesday that the city is focused on its attractiveness. Gelber, who is running for re-election, proposed the 2 a.m. ban to curb crime and hard partying in South Beach.
Commissioners approved the law as a temporary pilot program with the intention of calling a citywide referendum in November to ask voters if they should make it a permanent policy.
“This is purely a security issue,” said Gelber. “There is just too much clutter in this area and we need to act. We will enforce the rights of our residents in every available place. “
Clevelander attorney Alexander Tachmes said he was “glad” the city decided to stop enforcing its new law. He said his hope is that the decision would encourage collaboration between the city and the companies that run its world-famous nightlife.
“The ordinance was not properly approved and we are confident that the ordinance will be repealed by 2am at the end of the litigation,” he said.
Martin Vassolo reports on the politics and government of Miami Beach for the Miami Herald. He started working for the Herald in January 2018 after attending the University of Florida where he served as Editor-in-Chief of The Independent Florida Alligator. Before that, he worked as a general contract reporter at the Herald metro counter and as an intern in political reporting.
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