Miami Beach will ask voters if commission should pass 2 a.m. booze ban citywide
Nearly four years since Miami Beach voters overwhelmingly rejected a proposal to restrict alcohol sales on Ocean Drive, the city commission will now ask them whether to ban booze sales across the Beach after 2 a.m.
Commissioners voted Wednesday to place a nonbinding referendum on the Nov. 2 ballot that will ask voters whether the commission should change a city law that permits some businesses to sell alcohol until 5 a.m. and instead establish a 2 a.m. last call for alcohol citywide.
The outcome of the referendum would not bind the commission to act one way or another, and the language of the straw ballot includes the caveat that any resulting ordinance may include “specific locations and related restrictions/exceptions to be determined” by the commission. The 2017 referendum, which 65% of voters rejected, included an exception for indoor portions of bars that are completely enclosed and located entirely within hotels.
“I suspect those exceptions will be talked about,” Mayor Dan Gelber said at the meeting.
The nonbinding citywide referendum was one of five options commissioners considered at Wednesday’s meeting. Others included binding ballot questions that would target the South Beach entertainment district on Collins Avenue and Ocean Drive or South Beach more broadly. The commission voted 6-1 to move forward with the referendum.
Commissioner Ricky Arriola, who voted against the referendum, said restricting alcohol sales will not impact crime or rowdy behavior in South Beach. He noted that during spring break, when the city became so overwhelmed by party crowds that it imposed an 8 p.m. curfew, bars had already been ordered to close at midnight under a county COVID curfew.
“We see bad behavior happening at all hours of the day,” he said. “I worry that we keep focusing on some of the wrong things.”
In May, the commission passed a 2 a.m. restriction on alcohol sales in the entertainment district as a pilot program designed to expire after the November election. They unanimously voted to consider adding a referendum to make the legislation permanent.
A Miami-Dade Circuit judge struck down the 2 a.m. rollback pending the conclusion of a lawsuit filed by the popular Clevelander hotel on Ocean Drive, and the city stopped enforcing the legislation following the granting of the temporary injunction.
Acting City Attorney Rafael Paz advised the commission against placing a binding referendum on the ballot as the city continues fighting the lawsuit. Judge Beatrice Butchko’s initial ruling found fault with the way the commission approved the legislation, which she said required five of seven commissioners to be in favor instead of a simple majority because it was a zoning change.
Alexander Tachmes, an attorney for the Clevelander, said while his client does not believe restricting alcohol sales is the best way to control crime, making the rollback citywide would be better than targeting the entertainment district alone.
“Although we don’t believe an alcohol rollback to 2 a.m. is good policy or the right answer to criminal issues, we do believe it is more equitable to address alcohol hours citywide as opposed to singling out one zoning district,” he said in a statement. “Having said that, we are concerned with the language in the ballot question referring to future unspecified carve-outs and exemptions and we are reviewing.”
Gelber, who has spearheaded efforts to limit alcohol sales in South Beach, said the party-all-night business model in the entertainment district is in conflict with the growing residential communities in South Beach and is straining police resources. He had initially supported placing a ballot question targeting South Beach and the entertainment district but accepted the broader proposal after other commissioners signaled support for it.
Currently, the following areas of the city have a 2 a.m. alcohol restriction: Sunset Harbour; Alton Road between Fifth Street and Collins Canal, except those fronting Lincoln Road; Mid Beach from 40th Street to 42nd Street between Indian Creek and Alton Road; and the South of Fifth neighborhood.
“At the end of the day, if we do nothing, nothing will change,” Gelber said.
This story was originally published July 28, 2021 at 1:58 PM.
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