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mh04 BUSINESS OWNERS, RESIDENTS CLASH OVER ORDINANCE 02/01/2004
THE MIAMI HERALD
Copyright (c) 2004, The Miami Herald
DATE: Sunday, Februar 1, 2004 EDITION: Final
SECTION: Neighbors BC PAGE: 3MB LENGTH: 66 lines
SOURCE/CREDIT LINE: BY NICOLE WHITE, nwhite@herald.com
BUSINESS OWNERS, RESIDENTS CLASH OVER ORDINANCE
Plans to update the city's special events permitting ordinance drew fierce
criticism from residents and business owners at a meeting on Tuesday, and
sparked one of the most disruptive community meetings in recent years.
At issue: Residents say hotels are ignoring the county's noise ordinance by
repeatedly throwing noisy outdoor events and should face tighter restrictions
through the permitting process.
Hotel owners say there are already too many restrictions in place and want
more flexibility to hold outdoor events, like weddings and impromptu
receptions. They also want the city to limit input from neighborhood
associations when reviewing special event permits.
The community meeting, called by the city to review proposed changes,-to the
special events ordinance, drew nearly 100 attendees and was moved to the Miami
Beach Convention Center.
The divisions that arose sparked a series of boos and jeers between
residents and business owners, and a subsequent walkout by business owners.
Edison Hotel- owner Judith Berson-Levinson said hoteliers were justifiably
upset and frustrated at the meeting. She said that residents constantly
"hijack" the community meetings and turn them into debates over noise when
the issues are much larger than that.
"These residents moved in afterthe venues were here for many, many years,
and now they get upset because their quality of life is not what they thought
it should be. It's outrageous, " Berson-Levinson said in a follow-up interview
with The Herald.
Even worse, said Berson-Levinson, is that the permitting process being
proposed by the city is getting 'more and more tedious and 'bureauchronic, '
with more red tape that the city administration can use to justify their
existence. "
But residents say a stiff permitting process is needed to rein in
businesses that often ignore the current process. They point to Sunday pool
parties at several South Beach hotels, parties that have not been approved by
the city.
South Beach resident Eugene Woodard, who was among those jeered at the
meeting, said that while he understands the business community's frustrations,
their behavior at the meeting was unbecoming.
"There are residents who have been actively opposed to nearly everything
that the business community has pushed, " Woodard said, "but the fact that
[businesses] were here first doesn't negate the noise ordinance. When we moved
here, we expected the rule of law to be enforced.
Woodard said very few businesses are willing to acknowledge the fact that
there are competing interests in their community and that it is unfair for
residents to deal with "loud and out-of-control pool parties because they
happen to live next door to a hotel. "
Subsequent meetings will continue to be unproductive, said Woodar, who
suggested that the city select representatives from residents' and business
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owners' groups to meet in the future.
"We need to get a few level-headed people to sit together at the table to
work through this, where people can be more honest, open and more reasonable,
and where people can show some genuine respect for each other, " Woodard said.
Changes to the city's special events ordinance were proposed by the City
Commission last year to address an increase in the number of special events
requests.
Proposed changes include a twice-a-year waiver of the under-21 ordinance
for clubs 10, 000 square feet and larger.
Also proposed is an increase in the deposit required of special events
organizers, from $2, 500 to $10,000, a significant increase that is being
challenged by nonprofit organizations.
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