Weeks before Miami Grand Prix, judge hears last-ditch case to block Formula One race
Just weeks before Formula One racing is set to debut outside Hard Rock Stadium, nearby residents made a last-ditch effort in court to stop the Miami Grand Prix, saying the noise will be “intolerable.”
The lawsuit from Miami Gardens residents, led by former Miami-Dade County Commissioner Betty Ferguson, seeks to block the May 6-8 event. Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Alan Fine on Wednesday expressed “frustration” with having to consider the matter on such a tight timeline, but said he would make a ruling on whether to dismiss the case as soon as Monday.
The residents’ lawsuit says noise levels from the Formula One races will “cause severe disruption and physical harm to Miami Gardens residents,” citing an engineering firm’s estimate that the event will generate noise up to 97 decibels at homes within a 2.5-mile radius of the stadium — “similar to the sound levels produced by a chainsaw.”
But lawyers for both Hard Rock Stadium and the city of Miami Gardens said the judge shouldn’t take any steps that could prevent the Miami Grand Prix from moving forward before the city decides whether to issue a required special events permit.
It should be up to the city, not a court, they said, to decide if the event complies with the city’s noise ordinance. That law says noise should not “unreasonably disturb the peace and comfort of adjacent residences,” but doesn’t define what noise levels would meet that threshold.
“Numerous courts before me have resisted the temptation to jump into something that hasn’t been issued yet,” Fine said. “Shouldn’t I wait to see if the city manager issues the special events permit?”
SEE VIDEO: A yacht club in a parking lot? See what Miami Grand Prix looks like
Sam Dubbin, an attorney for the residents, said the judge doesn’t need to wait for the city to issue the permit before blocking the race from going forward.
“They live in a bedroom community and they’re entitled to protection under the law,” Dubbin said during the hearing.
But Joseph Serota, a lawyer for the city of Miami Gardens, said the residents would only possibly have a legal case if the city were to first issue a permit and then fail to enforce its own noise ordinance.
Fine said the case creates a difficult situation, given that the city has not yet made a decision on the permit and could potentially wait until days before the event.
“We’re in this limbo state prior to the issuance of a special events permit,” Fine said. “It’s a very uncomfortable place for a court to be.”
The Miami Gardens residents filed their lawsuit March 1 after a federal judge dismissed a civil rights lawsuit last July, saying the residents failed to show the event was racially discriminatory.
In that case, District Judge Robert N. Scola Jr. wrote that, while it is “plausible” that any harms from the Grand Prix will disproportionately impact Black residents because more than 70% of Miami Gardens’ population is Black, “that alone is not enough to show discriminatory intent.”
The Miami Gardens City Council approved a 10-year deal last April for the annual Formula One event in the parking area of Hard Rock Stadium, an agreement that includes a $5 million community benefits package. The City Council had previously opposed the event but changed course after the election of several new officials in 2020.
Serota, the attorney for the city, argued Wednesday that residents have no standing to try to undo the city’s approval of the event in court. Instead, he said, “if you don’t like what they do, you have an election.”
“There’s really nothing for the court to do,” he said.
This story was originally published April 13, 2022 at 7:45 PM.
