LTC 304-2009 Private House Party at 1647 Northview Drive (Sunset I) on Halloween~_ -~
.~
x ~, ;
v
OFFICE OF THE CITY MANAGER "` '
~,
NO.LTC# soa-zoo9 LETTER TO COMMISSION ~.
. _, ,
TO: Mayor Matti Herrera Bower and Members of the City Commission ~'
- o
FROM: Jorge M. Gonzalez, City Manager`s ~>
DATE: November 4, 2009 1 J
SUBJECT: Private House Party at 1647 Northview Drive (Sunset I) on Halloween
The purpose of this LTC is to provide you with information relating to a house party last weekend on Sunset
Island I that resulted in various complaints from residents.
My office became aware of the party at 1647 Northview Drive late last Friday afternoon as the result of a call
to the City Clerk's office from a representative of the homeowners association (HOA). Joe Dibella, relating to
this event, as well as emails from other concerned residents (Phillip Levine). Specifically. Mr. Dibella advised
the clerk's staff that:
• A huge Halloween party had been advertised in the Miami Herald at the above address
The listed owner for the residence is Dr. Leonard Hochstein
That this is not the first time a large event of this nature happens at this address.
That these events are a nuisance to the residents with "very loud music, illegal activity,
illegal parking all around the area, lots of garbage left on the surrounding area the next
day."
Mr. Dibella requested that someone call him with information relating to permitting, and requested that Code
Compliance, Parking Enforcement and Police personnel respond to this address regarding this matter.
Assistant City Manager Hilda Fernandez called Mr. Dibella and spoke with him at length regarding the City s
current codes and ordinances. clarified certain information, and explained what steps the City could and could
not take with regards to the anticipated event. Mr. Dibella subsequently shared this information with the HOA
members, including the number to call with any issues that evening. A copy of Mr. Dibella's email is attached
for your reference.
EVENTS OF OCTOBER 31, 2009
After speaking with Mr. Dibella, my staff contacted Code Compliance and Parking Enforcement staff Friday
afternoon, at which time we were advised that the property owner had contacted Code Compliance late that
afternoon (after S:OOpm) with a request for their assistance in allowing a valet company to operate at the
house on Halloween night, although they had not applied for a license. As this request could not be
accommodated with such short notice, the property owner advised Code staff that arrangements would be
made to shuttle guests from the 17`" street garage; in light of this last minute arrangement, both Parking and
Code staff were instructed to monitor the location. It was especially a concern because the event had been
advertised in the Miami Herald as open to the public; it was also advertised as an event to benefit the
Humane Society, with a $60 donation required from all male guests. Code staff tried to contact the Humane
Society and the property owner again prior to the event to request names and contact information for agency
reps; he did not have that information.
At approximately 11:00 p.m. Saturday evening we began to receive complaints regarding the volume of
vehicles on the island, as well as the issue of parking. Parking Enforcement and Code Compliance staff were
both dispatched. resulting in the towing of illegally parked cars (blocking driveways, etc.), as well as the
issuance of citations to illegally parked cars. At that time it was determined that noise from the partywas not a
violation of the noise ordinance. However, in light of concerns with the ability for emergency vehicles to
respond to the Islands, Police was requested to assist the gate guard in restricting access to the island to alt
Page 2 of 4
vehicles (except residents), and to assist in clearing the island of vehicles still in the roadway. It was
subsequently determined that it would be necessary to shut down the event. as the volume of guests at or
arriving to the party was significant. Estimates on the number of guests at the property range from 500 to 800
people (unconfirmed).
Individuals identifying themselves as representatives of the Humane Society were on site collecting funds.
We have contacted the Humane Society to understand the nature of their participation in the event. They
have advised is that they were contacted by the property owner and invited to attend the event to collect
donations ($50 per male guest). They also advised us that they kept all of the donations collected, but that
they were in noway involved in coordinating the event, or managing a guest list. Staff also observed a banner
on the location that included the names of the property owner. as well as a local lounge and a vodka brand.
We are researching the two companies to understand their relationship to the event, and to determine if a
violation of city code has occurred.
BACKGROUND
Miami-Dade County property records reflect that this property is owned by Leonard Hochstein and Anatoty
and Marina Hochstein.; the house was built in 2007. Permits Plus reflects a complaintfor Sunday construction
in March, 2006, and a complaint from a neighbor that a construction truck was damaging the Swale in front of
her home. However, it as shortly after construction was completed and the house was occupied that the City
began to receive complaints about events at the property. Specifically, between June 8, 2007 and October
31, 2009, the City opened fourteen (14) noise complaint cases. As you know. the City keeps a record of all
noise complaints and: once the complaint has been investigated and a disposition determined (valid, not
valid), the information is entered into our tracking system. A brief history of complaints for this property is
listed below.
1) A written warning was issued for the property on June 8: 2007 in response to a noise complaint. The
party on that date appeared to be commercial in nature, but could not be confirmed, and there were
issues with the valet company used.
2) There were four complaints called in on Halloween 2007 -three of them duplicate calls made within
minutes of each other. One violation was issued, carrying a S250 fine. By the time the code officer
responded to second call (noted as the fourth complaint of the night), the party had ended and both
Police and Parking Enforcement were present. A complaint was called in the following day relating to
litter throughout the neighborhood; no violation was possible as the littering was not observed when it
occurred.
3) Another noise violation was issued on December 15, 2007 in response to the owner's failure to lower
the music after receiving a verbal warning (Code Officer on patrol noticed loud music and determined
the noise to be a violation). In the course of investigating this complaint. it was determined that the
home had been rented out for a company holiday party and a violation for commercial use was issued
(and subsequently the higher fine for a noise complaint during an illegal commercial event was
levied).
4) Noise complaints were received during a party on New Year's Eve 2007: not valid.
5) Noise complaints were received for a Valentine's Day party in 2008. They were not found to be
violations at the time of the officer's arrival.
6) No complaints were received until November 1, 2008, when a noise complaint was called in. The
party was concluding when Code officers arrived and no violation was occurring, but both Police and
Parking were on-site and the volume of people and cars was described as significant in the notes.
7) A noise complaint during the Valentine's Day party this year (2115/09) was found to be valid. Because
the fine/penalty time frame in the noise ordinance had reset, the property owner was issued a written
warning.
The next complaint was not received until Halloween, last Saturday.
Several residents have incorrectly stated that the City lacks documentation on these cases, or has failed to
apply fines. That is not the case. Unfortunately, the residents are confusing noise complaint cases that are
created for every noise call (as per the Commission's direction), with a "valid' violation. All of the cases
include descriptions of the investigation by the officer and the result of their inspection. Fourteen noise
Page 3 of 4
cases were opened for this address. However, these cases represent complaints that actually occurred on
only eight distinct occasions (e.g. four cases on Halloween 2007; two cases New Year's Eve 2007; two cases
Valentines Day 2008: etc.): It is important to note that violations were issued on four of those eight
occasions. These violations have been issued to the property owner.
IMPACTS ON NEIGHRBORHOOD
City staff had previously met with the Homeowner's Association to discuss their concerns relating to the
events at this property, and the potential illegal commercial use of the property. Itwas during this timethat the
City was discussing amendments to the City Code to address the issue of Commercial Use of Single Family
Homes. There were several impacts on the neighborhood resulting from these large events identified then
which continue to be a concern now:
Noise
Parking limitations forcing the use of swales and/or partial parking on the street and illegal parking
(blocking driveways, hydrants)
• Traffic congestion caused from too many vehicles, limiting access to residents trying to reach their
homes
Litter left behind on the streets and swales by party-goers
• Damage to swales
As explained to the HOA, and to Mr. Diebello last Friday, these impacts are handled as follows:
Noise: City Code staff responds to complaints relating to noise. Violations of the noise ordinance (excessive,
unreasonable, etc. noise) must be witnessed by the Code Officer and can resuli in one written warning in a
twelve month period, and violations with fines for subsequent violations. These violations are issued to the
property owner (but can also be issued to a DJ, party planner, etc.).
Parking: Parking Enforcement staff is dispatched to address issues relating to illegal parking. Illegal parking
is considered parking that blocks a driveway or fire hydrant, or that blocks the street in such a manner as to
impede access by an emergency vehicle. Parking staff has issued citations to the vehicle owner, as well as
towed, as appropriate. As you may recall, the issue of the towing of vehicles from Sunset I was discussed by
the Commission, with direction to staff given that no towing of vehicles parked partially on the street should
occur unless the vehicle is impeding emergency vehicle access. Citations (and costs of tows) are borne by
the vehicle owner, not the property owner.
Parking staff also determines whether legal valet services have been secured. In an effort to facilitate valet
parking for events on the Sunset Islands, the City makes available the parking lot at the Miami Beach Golf
Club for rental by valet operators for evening events. There is no location for legal storage of valet parked
cars on the Sunset Islands, and any valet that parks a car on the swale would receive a violation. A valet
operator that has not received the proper license (which requires proof of legal storage) and is operating a
valet service would also receive a violation. In addition, the City can order that the valet operations be shut
down immediately. The property owner would not receive a violation either for an illegal valet or forthe valet's
illegal parking/storage of vehicle.
Traffic congestion: Access to the Sunset Islands occurs through a guard gate. As this is a public street,
access is permitted once the guard notes the car s auto tag. The guard does not regulate who and how many
cars can enter the Islands. As a result, traffic congestion has been significant during certain events, especially
when no valet is offered. Residents have complained that this has impacted the ability for them to reach their
homes. There is no mechanism to issue a violation to a property owner whose event causes traffic
congestion.
Litter: As you are aware: until recently Code staff could not issue a violation for littering unless the littering
was observed by the Code officer (even under the new changes, this capability is limited). As such. litter
found on the street or swale the day after an event would not result in a violation for the property owner that
hosted the event, except for any property maintenance issues relating to trash/litter on their own private
property. This has been a sensitive issue with the immediate neighbors to this address.
Page 4 of 4
Damage to swales: Swales are City-owned rights-of-ways that must be maintained by the adjacent property
owner. However, as this is not private property, the City cannot tow a vehicle parked on this public property,
As a result, residents have complained about damage to the swales they maintain, especially during events in
the rainy season. In many cases, such as this weekend, they have requested that we tow cars parked on the
swale, although there was no reason for the City to do so. No violation can be issued to the owner of the
vehicle, or to the property owner hosting the event. The Commission has discussed the matter of swales in
the past without any conclusion or direction to staff.
CITY OPTIONS
Comments made by residents before, during and after Saturday's event suggest that the City had the ability
to stop a private event in a single family home, or regulate it in some manner. As you are aware, this is not
the case.
There is no doubt that this event caused a disruption to this neighborhood. However, an event at a single
family home does not require a special event permit or any other permission from the City. Events such as a
birthday party, baby shower orwedding, are considered typical uses of homes, and the City does not regulate
these uses on single family home properties. That said. the City does encourage residents that have limited
parking on their property. or limited legal parking in their neighborhood, to consider valet services - butthis is
NOT required. Additionally, residents are not required to inform the City that they intend to have an event on
their property. This would be the case for a small gathering (such as 20 people gathering to watch a football
game). or for a larger event (wedding for 200 people). The City cannot apply standards to only certain
properties. even if those property owners are creating impacts to a neighborhood or inconveniences to their
neighbors.
Since the discussion on commercial uses in Single Family Homes several years ago, the departments that
typically receive requests for City support for such events (such as Police for Off-duty and Parking for valet)
have developed and use a process to share the information they obtain with certain other departments (e.g.
Code, TCD) to ensure that City support is not provided to illegal events, and to verify the history at that
location. This has often been the best mechanism to identify illegal events and prevent them from occurring.
Certainly, large events in neighborhoods such as the Sunset Islands, Star Island, North Bay Road. etc,. that
have limited parking present certain challenges, and the frustrations expressed by residents is
understandable. As you may recall, the issue of establishing thresholds to address impacts in single family
neighborhoods such as these was discussed. with the Commission at that time taking no action. At the time it
was understood that while the desire was to address those few cases where certain property owners continue
to have events that severely impact their neighbors, any regulations or restrictions would have to uniformly
apply to all residents, and could result in unintended consequences.
That said, the City has worked to identify remedies that have provided relief in some of these neighborhoods.
For example. for valet parking needs for events on Star Island, the City makes the single roadway a "one
way" and uses the second lane of traffic for valet parking. The valet parking company must provide a deposit
in the event any of the grass in the park is damaged, and they must pay for the costs of parking enforcement
officers to assist with traffic management. No guest is permitted to self-park on the right-of-way. This process
has worked very well and is well received y the residents there. The availability of the Miami Beach Golf Club
for valet storage is another example, and one that directly benefits the Sunset Island residents, as welt as
North Bay Road.
It should also be noted that a few years ago several options were discussed with the Sunset Island
Homeowner s Association to address the parking issue, such as adding a parking lane. No conclusion was
ever reached. However, staff will be analyzing some of these previous options, as well as possible new ones,
to discuss with the HOA. In the meantime we are concluding our research on the Saturday event and will take
any necessary action should it be determined that the event was commercial in nature.
ATTACHMENTS
F:lcmgr4SAL11HFernandezlCode CompllancetComm use 8 Shrt Trm RntM 807 Northview Drlve LTC ?100 09.doc
Velvet Underground
Halloween in clubland's a real treat
[iC'^ ,+::ene ', ri i~'.C I roP:r16
BY LESLEY ARRA VANEI.
LAN Kr~uAOL.OO M
This weekend almost every haunt in town --with the exception of your corner gas station -- is
throwing an All Hallow's Eve event....
"Haunted Honeymoon" is the theme at the home of Dr. and Mrs. Leonard Hochstein, 1647 North
View Dr., whose party is a benefit for the Humane Society of Greater Miami Adopt-A-Pet. A
minimum $50 donation is required of all male guests. DJ Julian Ingrosso spins, with after-party at
Mynt Lounge. Party starts at 10 p.m. Parking is exVemely limited, so cab it.
Property Information Map
Page 1 of 1
My Home
Miami-Dade County, Florida
MIAMI•DA~
u j1~: i~l't% .. - :.
Summery Details:
dio NO_ ,2J1-057~~;
r en g47 NORTH VW DR
tlng EONARD M HOCHSTEIN 8
ddress NAI OI Y B 8 MARINA)
HOCHSTEIN
tfi47 NORTIt VIEW DR
IANII BEACH FL
140.4251
Pro a Ifdornatlon:
'mary Zone: 100 SINGLE FAMILY
E
RESIDENC
001 RESIDENTWL
LUC.
INGLE FAMILY
eetlsl6ams-. !4
bors'.
rdrl Unifs- 1
F 841
of Slze: 2,580 SO FT
ear Built 07
UNSET ISLAND ISL
i PB 40-8 l0T 12
SS 7RNNG PARC
egal DJ W BrL APEX ON N
scdption: IEW DR 8 29.75FT ON
Y 8LK 1-H LOT SIZE
100 X 225 OR t 7667-
1857 0597 4 2
Assessment lnfonnation:
2009 2008
eer.
and Value: 3.725 7U 3,725,78
il6n VaIW. 3,371,10 7,3/110
arket Value 7,096,00 / U99.90
ssessed Value. 7,098,8U' 7,096.90
Exemption Infornadon:
bat: 2009 2008
lantestea~: 425,000 525.000
n~]'~r~=:c.a~-. YES YES
Taxable Value Inform ation:
ear. 2008 2008
Applied Applled
ti
n/
E
axrn9 AUthoriry: EzemptioN
Taxable xemp
o
Te%aae
Value: Value'-
550,0001
l
i 550,0001
eg
ala
:
S 7 04G,802 37 046 802
$50000/ 550.000.+
Wn1y:
g7pa9,992 57,9as eoz
sso,o9a sso.ooa
57.046.802 g7 W6,802
525.000+
B
d 525,000.+
1
oar
.
57 071 W 2 Y7 071.9U7
Sale Iflformadon:
ale Dale. rzoo7
le Arrant: 0
~
Ies Wh+ch ere
2k8
ualification drsglmlifietl as a result of
' n mina9on of Me deed
'Jievi +1~iiJJinn=J Saxs
httpa/gisims2.miamidade.gov/myhome/printmap.asp`?mapurl=htipa/gisims2.miamidade.go... 11/2/2009
Digaal OrOgphotogrephy -2007 0 ~ 125 fl
finis meP'~ws created on 11!212009 1138:37 PM for reference purposes only.
Weo Sile O 2002 Mlami~Dade Caurrty. All rights reserveC.
From: Webmaster Sunset Islands 1&2 [mailto:webmaster@Sunsetislandsiand2.org]
Sent: Friday, October 30, 2009 9:33 PM
To: Levine, Philip; 'Jill Hertzberg'; Bill Roy
Cc: Fernandez, Hilda; Martin Sandler; Beauchamp, Lillian
Subject: 1647 Northview Drive
Following my telephone call with Lillian Beauchamp, an Office Associate in the City Clerk's Office, I received a call
from Hilda Fernandez, the Assistant City Manager in charge of Code Compliance as well as several other
departments. Hilda and the City are very familiar with the complaints arising from the parties at the 1647
residence; and doing what they can within City code. Here is what I learned from Hilda:
The party is "advertised" in the Herald. It reads, in the Nightlife, Velvet Undergound (sic) section:
"Haunted Honeymoon" ..... for the benefit of the Humane Society of Greater Miami Adopt-A-Pet. A
minimum $50 donation is required of all male guests.
The Code Violations department will be monitoring the parry this weekend.
If the owner commits a violation this weekend, he will get a $250 fine since he received a written warning
within the past 12 months.
However if they determine that he rented out the home (a "commercial rental") he will be fined $1,000.
There is never a written warning for such a violation.
• Cars parked illegally will be ticketed; and if it is a public safety issue, they will be towed.
Valet Service must be licensed and get a special license for the night. They must prove they have legal
storage. They can use the parking lot at the golf club for a nominal fee.
Valets cannot park cars on swales or on the park on Sunset Island [I.
• Residents and guests can park cars on swales legally, as long as the car is entirely on the Swale and not
partially in the street. Cars parked in our park or in empty lots are illegally parked and can be towed.
• Valets, at times, park a car on a Swale and do not put a valet tag on the car so that the Code
Enforcement officer does not know who parked the car there: illegally by the valet or legally by a
homeowner or guest.
The clock for a fine resets every 12 months, if you do no[ have a second violation within the 12 month
period; then you go back to one "written warning" before you can be fined again for a violation.
Charity events have to be coordinated by the charity. The City calls the charity to confirm that it was
coordinated by them. The home must be made available to the charity at no cost.
• The City can shut down the party if it is too loud or cars lock down traffic.
Trash violators must be caught throwing the trash in the street.
• On weekends or after-hours, call "604 City" if you have a parking or noise issue.
Here is a summary of what I found on the City's website.
2/6/05 $0 Construction without a permit
2/6/05 $100 Construction on Sunday
5116/07 $0 Construction trucks ruining neighborhood lawns
618107 $0 Party Noise Excessively Loud; Illegal valet operation
10/28/07 5250 Party Noise Excessively Loud
10/31/07 $0 Bottles, cups and debris in front of house.
12/15/07 $0 Party Noise Excessively Loud
12/21/07 $1,000 Party Noise Excessively Loud
12131!07 $0 No noise when Code Compliance officer arrived
2/15/08 $0 No noise when Code Compliance officer arrived
11/01/08 $0 No noise when Code Compliance officer arrived
2/14/09 g0 Party Noise Excessively Loud; Cars parked all over the streets; Alleged representatives
from Humane Society said they were collecting $50 per person. Hochstein said "It was a charity event and lingerie
~a~ ° l'mm~laint was also filed for prostitution (which is a Police matter and not a Code Violations issue.)
)oe