Outdoor dining closures delayed as more restaurants sue Miami Beach over denied permits
The planned closure of 12 sidewalk cafes in South Beach will be delayed at least two weeks amid a flurry of lawsuits restaurant owners have filed against the city over a new law that places enhanced restrictions on businesses applying for outdoor dining permits.
The restaurants — located on Ocean Drive, Lincoln Road and Española Way — were supposed to close their outdoor cafes by Tuesday after the city denied their permits. But they’re staying open for now.
The city this week agreed to delay their closure pending a Dec. 14 court hearing, when a Miami-Dade circuit judge is scheduled to decide on a motion that seeks to temporarily block the city from enforcing the closures.
“You can still enjoy the best paella on Miami Beach for at least a little while longer,” said attorney Etan Mark, who represents Spanish restaurants Tapelia and Ole Ole on Lincoln Road. If the businesses lose their outdoor dining, they expect to lay off 100 employees and close down, according to their lawsuit. Some employees protested outside City Hall last week.
The dozen restaurants are among 13 South Beach businesses whose applications to continue operating outdoor tables on the public sidewalk were denied Nov. 16 for the upcoming 2022 permit period over previous code violations and negative online reviews.
In a statement, a city spokeswoman said 12 of the 13 businesses sued the city challenging the denial of their sidewalk cafe applications. For all but one, Il Giardino on Ocean Drive, the Tuesday deadline to vacate the sidewalk cafe area won’t be enforced until after the Dec. 14 hearing.
“In order to give the parties time to submit briefings, the city has agreed that it would maintain the status quo with the plaintiffs that have filed suit, pending the Dec. 14 hearing,” the spokeswoman said.
The permit denials are part of a new policy approved by the City Commission in March that directed the city administration to consider criteria like past code violations, criminal violations or bad online reviews when reviewing cafe permit applications. Prior to the new law, the application process mostly consisted of submitting site plans and paying off any outstanding fees.
In their lawsuits, the most recent two filed on Tuesday, restaurant owners argue that the new law is unconstitutional because the city is applying it retroactively and with broad discretion but not allowing appeals. Operators must wait 12 months to reapply for the permit, which is good for one year.
“It’s an unfortunate situation,” said attorney Philip Hudson, who has sued the city on behalf of eight Ocean Drive restaurants. “I think all of the plaintiffs’ counsel collectively believe that the ordinance is unconstitutional as written. It gives too much discretion to the city manager.”
This story was originally published November 30, 2021 at 6:46 PM.
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