Ordinance 2024-4596 ORDINANCE NO. 2024.-4596
AN ORDINANCE OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF
MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA, AMENDING CHAPTER 66 OF THE CODE OF THE
CITY OF MIAMI BEACH; FLORIDA, ENTITLED "MARINE STRUCTURES,
FACILITIES AND VESSELS," BY AMENDING ARTICLE III, ENTITLED "PIERS,
DOCKS, AND BOAT RAMPS," BY CREATING SECTION 66-116 THEREOF,
ENTITLED "COMMERCIAL VESSEL HOURS OF OPERATION AT PRIVATE
MARINAS AND PRIVATE MARINE FACILITIES," TO LIMIT THE HOURS OF
OPERATION FOR COMMERCIAL VESSEL ACTIVITY AT PRIVATE MARINAS
AND PRIVATE MARINE FACILITIES; AND PROVIDING FOR REPEALER,
SEVERABILITY, CODIFICATION, AND AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
WHEREAS, the City has seen a significant increase in.commercial vessel activity in the
last several years, particularly since the COVID-19 pandemic; and
WHEREAS, the City has also experienced many quality-of-life complaints related to
commercial charter vessel activity including unruly commercial charter and boat rental patrons,
disturbances caused by public intoxication, engaging in excessively loud arguments and playing
excessively loud music, and public urination; and
WHEREAS, on April 28, 2023, the City Commission approved Ordinance No. 2023-4550,
that is codified in Section 82-72 of the City Code, which limits commercial vessel activity at public
marinas and public marine facilities each day from 9 p.m. until 7 a.m. the following day; and
WHEREAS, the complaints and issues emanating from public marinas and public marine
facilities have been greatly reduced since Ordinance No. 2023-4550 (Section 82-72) went into
effect; and
WHEREAS, the Mayor and City Commission desire to adopt the following regulations in
the City Code of Laws and Ordinances in order to address the existing concerns and complaints
surrounding commercial vessels at private marinas and private marine facilities, and to protect
City residents' quality of life and further the public health, safety, and welfare.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION
OF THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA, AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1...That Section 66-116 of the.City Code shall be created as follows:
CHAPTER 66
MARINE STRUCTURES, FACILITIES AND VESSELS
* * * -
ARTICLE III. PIERS, DOCKS, AND BOAT RAMPS
* * *
Sec. 66-116. Commercial vessel activity hours of operation at private marinas and private
marine facilities.
Definitions. The following words, terms, and phrases, when used in this section, shall have
the meaning ascribed to them in this section, except where the context clearly indicates a
different meaning:
Private Marina means any privately-owned or operated, for-profit, dock or installation that
provides accommodations or facilities for any watercraft, including mooring, docking, storing,
leasing, sale, or servicing of watercraft, located within the city.
Private Marine facility means any device, dock, structure, building or component of a marina.
Operate means to navigate or otherwise use a vessel on or in the waters of the city.
Vessel includes every description of watercraft used or capable of being used as a means of
transportation on water. The term shall mean any watercraft, and all vessels shall belong to
one of the following classes:
L) Commercial vessel means and includes every vessel used or operated for commercial
purposes on the navigable waters of the city that is either carrying passengers (including,
but not limited to, charters and rentals), carrying freight, towing, or for any other use for
which a compensation is received,either directly or where provided as an accommodation,
advantage, facility or privilege at any place or public accommodation, . resort, or
amusement.
Pleasure vessel means and includes every vessel not within the classification of
commercial vessel. The term shall not include a crew racing shell, which means any shell,
gig, barge or other boat designed primarily for the practice of racing conducted by a private
or public educational institution, school, academy, college, university or association of any
of the preceding, or by an amateur sports club or association or by the United States or
International Olympics Committee, and shall not include canoes, rowboats or lifeboats.
(b)All commercial vessel activity shall be prohibited at private marinas and private marine facilities
each day from 9 p.m. until 7 a.m. the following day. Such prohibition shall include operating a
commercial vessel; the queueing, embarkation or disembarkation of passengers; and the
loading or unloading of any food, goods, equipment, fuel or supplies.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, all pleasure vessels, along with commercial fishing vessels,
commercial diving vessels and educational "eco" or nature tours shall be exempt from the
requirements of this section.
This section shall not be construed as to prohibit private marinas and private marine facilities
from providing or utilizing core marina functions including, but not limited to, utilities, dockage,
storage, and other services typically provided by a marina.
This section shall not apply to public marinas and public marine facilities which are governed
by Section 82-72 of the City Code.
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LO Civil penalties. The code compliance department and police department shall enforce this
section, however, this shall not preclude other law enforcement agencies from taking any
action to assure compliance with this division and all applicable laws.
W If a violation is observed, the enforcement officer shall be authorized to issue a notice of
violation to the commercial vessel. The notice will inform the violator of the nature of the
violation, amount of fine for which the violator is liable, instructions and due date for paying
the fine,that the violation may be appealed by requesting an administrative hearing before
a special magistrate within ten days after service of the notice of violation, and that the
failure to appeal the violation within ten days of service shall constitute an admission of
the violation and a waiver of the right to a hearing.
f(2) A violation of this section shall be subject to the following fines and penalties:
a. If the violation is the first offense, a person or business shall receive a civil fine of
$500.00;
b. If the violation is the second violation within the preceding six months, person or
business shall receive a civil fine of$1,000.00;
c. If the violation is the third violation within the preceding six months, a person or
business shall receive a civil fine of$2,000.00; and
d. If the violation is the fourth or subsequent violation within the preceding six months, a
person or business shall receive a civil fine of$5,000.00, and any city-issued business
tax receipt shall be revoked.
12) A violator who has been served with a notice of violation must elect to either:
a. Pay the civil fine in the manner indicated on the notice of violation; or
b. Request an administrative hearing before a special magistrate to appeal the notice of
violation, which must be requested within ten days of the service of the notice of
violation.
a) The procedures for appeal by administrative hearing of the notice of violation shall be as
set forth in sections 30-72 and 30-73 of this Code.A request for the administrative hearing
must be accompanied by a fee as approved by a resolution of the city commission, which
shall be refunded if the named violator prevails in the appeal.
L5j If the named violator, after issuance of the notice of violation, fails to pay the civil fine, or
fails to timely request an administrative hearing before a special magistrate, the special
magistrate may be informed of such failure by the code enforcement officer. The failure of
the named violator to appeal the decision of the code enforcement officer within the
prescribed time period shall constitute a waiver of the violator's right to an administrative
hearing before the special magistrate, and shall be treated as an admission of the
violation, for which fines and penalties shall be assessed accordingly.
15) A certified copy of an order imposing a fine may be.recorded in the public records, and
thereafter shall constitute a lien upon any real or personal property owned by the violator,
which may be enforced in the same manner as a court judgment by the sheriffs of this
3
state, including levy against the violator's real or personal property, but shall not be
deemed to be a court judgment except for enforcement purposes. On or after the 61st day
following the recording of any such lien that remains unpaid, the city may foreclose or
otherwise execute upon the lien.
a) Any party aggrieved by a decision of a special magistrate may appeal that decision to a
court of competent jurisdiction.
j) The special magistrate shall be prohibited from hearing the merits of the notice of violation
or considering the timeliness of a request for an administrative hearing if the violator has
failed to request an administrative hearing within ten days of the service of the notice of
violation.
The special magistrate shall not have discretion to alter the penalties prescribed in this
subsection.
SECTION 2. REPEALER.
All ordinances or parts of ordinances in conflict herewith are hereby repealed.
SECTION 3. SEVERABILITY.
If any section, sentence, clause or phrase of this ordinance is held to be invalid or
unconstitutional by any court of competent jurisdiction, then said holding shall in no way affect the
validity of the remaining portions of this ordinance.
SECTION 4. CODIFICATION.
It is the intention of the Mayor and City Commission of the City of Miami Beach, and it is
hereby ordained that the provisions of this ordinance shall become and be made a part of the
Code of the City of Miami Beach, Florida. The sections of this ordinance may be renumbered or
re-lettered to accomplish such intention, and the word"ordinance" may be changed to "section,"
"article," or other appropriate word.
SECTION 5. EFFECTIVE DATE.
This Ordinance shall take effect on PGrc% O2y .
PASSED and ADOPTED this day of Fe retie 2024.
ATTEST: a�•1r,�
FEB 2 3 1024 Steven Meiner
Mayor
Rafael Granado
City Clerk
..,, • APPROVED AS TO
(Sponsored by Commissioner David Suarez) ` `e'S�'�a F&FOREXECUTION
E
Underline denotes additions. - ;; "° •y
kil!CORIiIMEDI
Co-Sponsored by Commissioner Joseph Magazine4 �, i,— q 2�{
Co-Sponsored by Mayor Steven Meiner City Attorney il Dote
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Ordinances -R5 H
MIAMI BEACH
COMMISSION MEMORANDUM
TO: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Commission
FROM: Rafael A. Paz, City Attorney
DATE: February 21, 2024
10:45 a.m. Second Reading Public Hearing
SUBJECT:AN ORDINANCE OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY
OF MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA,AMENDING CHAPTER 66 OF THE CODE OF
THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA, ENTITLED "MARINE
STRUCTURES, FACILITIES AND VESSELS," BYAMENDING ARTICLE III,
ENTITLED "PIERS, DOCKS,AND BOAT RAMPS," BY CREATING SECTION
66-116 THEREOF, ENTITLED "COMMERCIAL VESSEL HOURS OF
OPERATION AT PRIVATE MARINAS AND PRIVATE MARINE FACILITIES,"
TO LIMIT THE HOURS OF OPERATION FOR COMMERCIAL VESSEL
ACTIVITY AT PRIVATE MARINAS AND PRIVATE MARINE FACILITIES;
AND PROVIDING FOR REPEALER, SEVERABILITY, CODIFICATION,AND
AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
BACKGROUND/HISTORY
Was Agenda Item initially requested by a lobbyist which, as defined in Code Sec. 2-481, includes a
principal engaged in lobbying? No
If so, specify name of lobbyist(s)and principal(s): N/A
ANALYSIS
Please see attached Commission Memorandum.
The Business Impact Estimate (BIE)was published on February 9, 2024.
See BIE at: https:Nwww.miamibeachfl.gov/city-halllcity-clerk/meeting-notices/
SUPPORTING SURVEY DATA
N/A.
FINANCIAL INFORMATION
None at this time.
Is this a"Residents Right Does this item utilize G.O.
to Know" item.pursuant to Bond Funds?
City Code Section 2-14?
No No
Page 535 of 1278
Legislative Tracking
Office of the City Attorney
Sponsor
Commissioner David Suarez and Co-sponsored by Commissioner Joseph Magazine
ATTACHMENTS:
Description
o Commission Memorandum
o Ordinance
Page 536 of 1278
MIAMI BEACH
Rafael A.Paz,City Attorney
City of Miami Beach, 1700 Convention Center Drive,Miami Beach,Florida 33139,www.miamibeachfl.gov
COMMISSION MEMORANDUM
TO: Mayor Steven Meiner
Members of the City Commission
FROM: Rafael A. Paz, City Attorney
DATE: January 31, 2024
SUBJECT: AN ORDINANCE OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF MIAMI
BEACH, FLORIDA, AMENDING CHAPTER 66 OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF
MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA, ENTITLED "MARINE STRUCTURES, FACILITIES AND
VESSELS," BY AMENDING ARTICLE III, ENTITLED "PIERS, DOCKS, AND BOAT
RAMPS," BY CREATING SECTION 66-116 THEREOF, ENTITLED "COMMERCIAL
VESSEL HOURS OF OPERATION AT PRIVATE MARINAS AND PRIVATE MARINE
FACILITIES,"TO LIMIT THE HOURS OF OPERATION FOR COMMERCIAL VESSEL
ACTIVITY AT PRIVATE MARINAS AND PRIVATE MARINE FACILITIES; AND
PROVIDING FOR REPEALER, SEVERABILITY, CODIFICATION, AND AN
EFFECTIVE DATE.
The proposed Ordinance (the "Ordinance"), sponsored by Commissioner David Suarez, is submitted
for first reading at the January 31, 2024 City Commission meeting.
The City has seen a significant increase in commercial vessel activity in the last several years,
particularly since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, the City has experienced many
quality-of-life complaints related to commercial charter vessel activity including unruly commercial
charter and boat rental patrons, disturbances caused by public intoxication, patrons engaging in
excessively loud arguments and playing excessively loud music, and public urination.
In an attempt to mitigate these issues, on April 28, 2023, the City Commission approved Ordinance No.
2023-4550 (as codified in Section 82-72 of the City Code) which limits commercial vessel activity at
public marinas and public marine facilities each day from 9 p.m. until 7 a.m. the following day.
Importantly, the complaints and issues emanating from public marinas and public marine facilities have
been greatly reduced since Ordinance No. 2023-4550 (Section 82-72)went into effect.
As such, the Mayor and City Commission may desire to adopt the proposed Ordinance to address the
existing concerns and complaints surrounding commercial vessels at private marinas and private
marine facilities, and to protect City residents' quality of life and further the public health, safety, and
welfare.
RAP/ MAF/bhs
Page 537 of 1278