Miami Beach rejects Clevelander settlement, will appeal order blocking 2 a.m. booze ban
The city of Miami Beach will appeal a judge’s order suspending a new law banning the sale and consumption of alcohol after 2 a.m. in the South Beach entertainment district, Acting City Attorney Rafael Paz said.
In a statement Tuesday night, Paz also said the city would reject a settlement offer from the Clevelander hotel, which sued the city last month over the booze ban. The proposed settlement sought to shield some Ocean Drive businesses, like the Clevelander, from the 2 a.m. cutoff while allowing the city to enforce the law in the rest of the district.
“The City is rejecting the Clevelander’s settlement proposal and intends to immediately appeal the Court’s order, once it is entered,” Paz wrote in a statement.
Paz made the announcement after briefing the city commission and city manager on the lawsuit at a private attorney-client session held during a special commission meeting Tuesday evening.
Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Beatrice Butchko last week approved the Clevelander’s request that the 2 a.m. restriction be suspended until the end of the lawsuit. As of Tuesday evening, Butchko had not issued an official order granting the temporary injunction, but Paz said the city will file its appeal as soon as she does. The 2 a.m. law, in effect since May 22, remains in place on Ocean Drive and Collins Avenue between Fifth and 16th streets.
Commissioners approved the policy as part of a seven-month pilot program on May 12. The commission also unanimously voted in favor of adding a citywide voter referendum to the November ballot that would make the temporary restrictions permanent.
In her ruling last Monday, Butchko concluded that the 2 a.m. proposal was improperly presented to the city commission as a general ordinance requiring a simple majority when it should have been pitched as a land-development regulation requiring broader commission support. The legislation passed with four of seven affirmative votes instead of the required five votes, she said.
“It was arbitrary, it is a violation of local ordinances, and that was unlawful,” Butchko said during the court hearing.
The Clevelander, which is owned by the Canadian company Jesta Group, also sought to overturn a commission vote lifting an exemption to the noise ordinance that had allowed businesses on Ocean Drive between Ninth and 11th streets to blare music eastbound without limit. Butchko rejected the challenge, but said the Clevelander is allowed to play music at levels of up to 78 decibels.
She also ruled in favor of the city regarding its closure of Ocean Drive to vehicles, which the Clevelander said had inconvenienced hotel guests.
In its proposed settlement, the Clevelander asked that the city allow 5 a.m. alcohol sales on Ocean Drive from Ninth to 11th Streets, loosen noise restrictions for businesses along that stretch that have entertainment permits and allow the Clevelander to have a valet parking stand at the corner of Ocean Drive and 10th Street.
Alexander Tachmes, an attorney for the Clevelander, said in a statement following the city’s announcement that the Clevelander will continue fighting the 2 a.m. cutoff and the city’s other restrictions in court.
“If the city does not want to settle, then we will prosecute the case vigorously until its conclusion,” he said.
Mayor Dan Gelber, who called Tuesday’s special meeting, told the Miami Herald earlier on Tuesday that he opposed the settlement and believed the city would win its appeal.
He said the drink-all-night business model in the entertainment district has endangered residents and police.
“It’s an absurd offer,” he said. “They want everything and more, which will by the way mean that nothing will ever change. They want to assure that nothing changes in this area. And the grief we’re feeling now is with our community forever.”
This story was originally published June 15, 2021 at 8:39 PM.
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