BIE - Obstruct Pedestrian/Vehicular Traffic Prohibited.(03/01/2024)M IAMI BEACH
City of Miami Beach, 1700 Convention Center Drive, Miami Beach, Florida 33139, www.miamibeachfl.gov
TO:
FROM:
MEETING DATE:
SUBJECT:
Mayor Steven Meiner and Members of the City Commission
Alina T. Hudak, City Manager ~ ~ ~y
March 13, 2024
BUSINESS IMPACT ESTIMATE FOR:
AN ORDINANCE OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE
CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA, AMENDING CHAPTER 70 OF THE
CODE OF THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA, ENTITLED
"MISCELLANEOUS OFFENSES," BY AMENDING ARTICLE 11,
ENTITLED "PUBLIC PLACES," BY AMENDING DIVISION I ENTITLED
"GENERALLY," BY CREATING SECTION 70-46 THEREOF, ENTITLED
"OBSTRUCTING OF PEDESTRIAN AND VEHICULAR TRAFFIC
PROHIBITED"; AND PROVIDING FOR REPEALER, SEVERABILITY,
CODIFICATION, AND AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
Is a Business Impact Estimate Required?
Yes □No (If no, please check one of the boxes below)
If one or more boxes are checked below, this means the City of Miami Beach has
determined that a Business Impact Estimate for the above-referenced Ordinance is not
required by State law.
□The proposed Ordinance is required for compliance with Federal or State law or
regulation;
□The proposed Ordinance relates to the issuance or refinancing of debt;
□The proposed Ordinance relates to the adoption of budgets or budget
amendments, including revenue sources necessary to fund the budget;
□The proposed Ordinance is required to implement a contract or an agreement,
including, but not limited to, any Federal, State, local, or private grant or other
financial assistance accepted by the City;
□The proposed Ordinance is an emergency ordinance;
□The Ordinance relates to procurement; or
□The proposed Ordinance is enacted to implement the following:
a. Part II of Chapter 163, Florida Statutes, relating to growth policy, county and
municipal planning, and land development regulation, including zoning,
development orders, development agreements and development permits;
b. Sections 190.005 and 190.046, Florida Statutes, regarding community
development districts;
c. Section 553. 73, Florida Statutes, relating to the Florida Building Code; or
d. Section 633.202, Florida Statutes, relating to the Florida Fire Prevention Code.
Business Impact Estimate
Page 2
If none of the above exceptions apply, this Business Impact Estimate is hereby provided
in accordance with Section 166.041(4), Florida Statutes.
1. A summary of the proposed Ordinance and its purpose is more fully set forth in the
Commission Memorandum accompanying the Ordinance, as well as in the recitals to the
Ordinance itself, which are attached hereto.
2. The City of Miami Beach estimates that the proposed Ordinance will have no direct
economic impact on private, for-profit businesses in the City of Miami Beach, that the
proposed Ordinance will have no direct compliance costs that businesses may
reasonably incur; that the proposed Ordinance will not impose any new charge or fee for
which businesses will be financially responsible, and that the proposed Ordinance will not
impact the City of Miami Beach’s regulatory costs and will not generate any revenue from
new charges or fees.
3. Good faith estimate of the number of businesses likely to be impacted by the proposed
Ordinance:
The City of Miami Beach estimates that no businesses are likely to be impacted by the
proposed Ordinance.
4. Additional comments: None.
MIAMI BEACH
City of Miami Beach, 1700 Convention Center Dri ve. Miami Beac h, Flo rida 33 139, www.mia m ibeac hfl.gov
COMMISS ION MEMORANDUM
TO: Mayor Steven Meiner and Members of the City Commission
FROM: Rafael A . Paz , City Attorney ~
FIRST READING
DATE: January 31 , 2024
SUBJECT: AN ORDINANCE OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF
MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA, AMENDING CHAPTER 70 OF THE CODE OF THE
CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA, ENTITLED "MISCELLANEOUS
OFFENSES," BY AMENDING ARTICLE II, ENTITLED "PUBLIC PLACES," BY
AMENDING DIVISION I ENTITLED "GENERALLY," BY CREATING SECTION
70-46 THEREOF, ENTITLED "OBSTRUCTING OF PEDESTRIAN AND
VEHICULAR TRAFFIC PROHIBITED"; AND PROVIDING FOR REPEALER,
SEVERABILITY, CODIFICATION, AND AN EFFECTIVE DATE .
At the request of the sponsor, Commissioner Alex J . Fernandez, this proposed ordinance
is presented to the Mayor and City Commission for your consideration on first reading.
The City of Miami Beach has a strong interest in protecting the health, safety and welfare
of the general public, by providing residents and visitors the right and ability to move freely
and safely through the City. Sidewalks, streets, alleys, beach walks, and beach entrances
play a vital role in city life as conduits for pedestrian movement and access , enhancing
connectivity and promoting walking throughout th e City. Safe, accessible , and well-
maintained sidewalks , streets, alleys, beach walks, and beach entrances are a
fundamental and necessary foundation for ci ties, and have been found to enhance
general public health and ma xim ize social capital. When an individual's path is blocked
on the sidewalks, streets, alleys, beach walks, and beach entrances it can force them
onto the street or other dangerous terrain where there is a risk of death or injury.
Pedestrians killed while walking along th e roadway account for many incid ents of traffic
fatalities resu lting from collisions between motor vehicles and pedestrians.
In order to advance the foregoing objectives, the proposed ordinance creates new City
Code Section 70-46 and mandates that any person who , stands, sits, lies, or places an
object in such manner as to block passage by another person or to require another person
to take evasive action to avoid physical co ntact , or who , after being ordered to move by
law enforcement officers, remains in or on any public s idewalk, street, alley, beach walk,
or beach entrance in such a manner as to block or impair movement of vehicles or
pedestrians shall be guilty, pursu ant to this Section, of the offense of Obstructing of
Pedestrian and Vehicular Traffic.
Commission Memo
January 31, 2024
Page 2
The proposed Ordinance also contains express constitutional protections, at subsection
(b), providing that acts authorized as an exercise of one's First Amendment right to
demonstrate, picket orto legally protest shall not constitute Obstructing of Pedestrian and
Vehicular Traffic unless a nearby adequate and available alternative forum is offered and
provided, to which the subject or subjects refuse to move.
As an illustration only, a person or persons blocking or impairing movement of vehicles
or pedestrians on any public sidewalk, street, alley, beach walk, or beach entrance while
exercising their First Amendment right to protest demonstrate, picket or to legally protest
should be offered access to an adjacent or nearby public park, if one exists and is
available, where they can exercise their First Amendment rights without blocking or
impairing movement of vehicles or pedestrians. Only if those person or persons refuse to
move to such a park or other offered forum where their activities will not block or impair
movement of vehicles or pedestrians on any public sidewalk, street, alley, beach walk, or
beach entrance may an arrest be made.
The proposed Ordinance also provides, at subsection (c), that anyone performing acts
with a valid permit are allowed.
Finally, the proposed Ordinance establishes, at subsection (d), that violations are
punishable by a maximum of 60 days in jail and/or a maximum $500 fine. However, if the
subject identifies themselves as homeless, the opportunity to enter a homeless shelter,
or other immediate housing, must be offered and refused before an arrest may be
effectuated.
RAP/RFR/mmm
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ORDINANCE NO. _____ _
AN ORDINANCE OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE
CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA, AMENDING CHAPTER 70 OF THE
CODE OF THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA, ENTITLED
"MISCELLANEOUS OFFENSES," BY AMENDING ARTICLE II,
ENTITLED "PUBLIC PLACES," BY AMENDING DIVISION I ENTITLED
"GENERALLY," BY CREATING SECTION 70-46 THEREOF,
ENTITLED "OBSTRUCTING OF PEDESTRIAN AND VEHICULAR
TRAFFIC PROHIBITED"; AND PROVIDING FOR REPEALER,
SEVERABILITY, CODIFICATION, AND AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
WHEREAS, sidewalks, streets, alleys, beach walks, and beach entrances play a vital role
in city life as conduits for pedestrian movement and access, enhancing connectivity and
promoting walking throughout the city; and
WHEREAS, safe, accessible, and well-maintained sidewalks, streets, alleys, beach walks,
and beach entrances are a fundamental and necessary foundation for cities, and have been found
to enhance general public health and maximize social capital; and
WHEREAS, when an individual's path is blocked on the sidewalks, streets, alleys, beach
walks, and beach entrances it can force them onto the street or other dangerous terrain where
there is a risk of death or injury; and
WHEREAS, pedestrians killed while walking along the roadway account for many incidents
of traffic fatalities resulting from collisions between motor vehicles and pedestrians; and
WHEREAS, the City of Miami Beach wishes to provide citizens and visitors the right to move
freely and safely through the city.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION
OF THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA, AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. That Chapter 70 of the Code of the City of Miami Beach, Florida, entitled
"Miscellaneous Offenses," be amended, by amending Article II, entitled "Public Places," by
amending Division I, entitled "Generally," by creating Section 70-46 thereof, entitled
"Obstructing of Sidewalks and Streets Prohibited" as follows and as hereinafter set forth
below:
CHAPTER 70
MISCELLANEOUS OFFENSES
* * *
ARTICLE II. PUBLIC PLACES
* * *
DIVISION I. GENERALLY
* * *
Sec. 70-46. OBSTRUCTING OF PEDESTRIAN AND VEHICULAR TRAFFIC PROHIBITED
(a) Any person who, stands, sits, lies, or places an object in such manner as to block passage
by another person or to require another person to take evasive action to avoid physical
contact. and who, after being ordered to move by law enforcement officers, remains in or
on any public sidewalk, street, alley, beach walk, or beach entrance in such a manner as
to block or impair movement of vehicles or pedestrians shall be guilty, pursuant to this
Section, of the offense of Obstructing of Pedestrian and Vehicular Traffic.
(b) Protected activities. Acts authorized as an exercise of one"s First Amendment right to
demonstrate, picket or to legally protest shall not constitute Obstructing of Pedestrian and
Vehicular Traffic unless a nearby adequate and available alternative forum is offered and
provided, to which the subject or subjects refuse to move. As an illustration only, a person
or persons blocking or impairing movement of vehicles or pedestrians on any public
sidewalk, street. alley, beach walk, or beach entrance while exercising their First
Amendment right to protest demonstrate, picket or to legally protest should be offered
access to an adjacent or nearby public park, if one exists and is available, where they can
exercise their First Amendment rights without blocking or impairing movement of vehicles
or pedestrians on any public sidewalk. street. alley, beach walk, or beach entrance. Only
if those person or persons refuse to move to such a park or other offered appropriate
alternative forum where their activities will not block or impair movement of vehicles or
pedestrians on any public sidewalk, street. alley, beach walk, or beach entrance may an
arrest be made.
(c) Permitted Activities. Acts authorized by a permit duly issued by a lawful authority shall not
constitute a violation of this Section.
(d) Enforcement. Violation of this Section shall be enforced pursuant to Section 1-14 of the
Miami-Beach City Code. If a law enforcement officer or other authorized official encounters
a person violating this Section who volunteers that he or she has no home or other
permanent shelter, he or she must be given an opportunity to voluntarily enter a homeless
shelter or similar facility within Miami-Dade County, if available to that person, or to accept
other available government assistance for which the person is eligible that would result in
housing, including, but not limited to, mutually consensual reunification with family or
friends in any location, or consensual placement in any other appropriate facility that
provides housing within Miami-Dade County. If no homeless shelter or other facility, or
government assistance, that would result in immediate housing, is available for which the
person is eligible, an arrest may not be made.
SECTION 2. REPEALER.
All ordinances or parts of ordinances in conflict herewith be and the same are hereby
repealed.
SECTION 3. SEVERABILITY.
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If any section , subsection, clause or provision of this Ordinance is held invalid , the
remaindershall not be affected by such invalidity .
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 part of the Miami
Beach City Code . The sections of this ordinance may be renumbered or relettered 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 the ___ day of ______ _. 2024.
PASSED AND ADOPTED this __ day of _______ , 2024.
ATTEST:
Steven Meiner, Mayor
Rafael E. Granado , City Clerk
(Sponsored by Commissioner Alex J. Fernandez)
Underline denotes additions
Strikethrough denotes deletions
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APPROVED AS TO
FORM & LAf\JGU AG E
& FOR EXECUT ION
City Attorney ~ Date