Time, bar patrons, please

For most bars in the city of Miami, “last call” has been 5 a.m. for many years.

But in June 2008, the city’s alcohol sales law was revised with a clause prohibiting businesses in the Coconut Grove central commercial district from selling alcohol past 3 a.m.

That could change on March 25, when the Miami City Commission votes on whether or not to allow bars throughout the City of Miami to apply for permits allowing them to serve alcohol until 5 a.m.
The Coconut Grove Village Council voted 5-2 on Jan. 21 to recommend a repeal of the 3 a.m. alcohol cutoff time in the Grove’s central business district.
Commissioner Marc D. Sarnoff is at the forefront of maintaining the 3 a.m. cut-off time, for Coconut Grove. Joined by many Grove residents, Sarnoff cites the dangers of drunken driving and other destructive behaviors as the rationale behind the legislation. He also warns that a strong police presence is required in the Grove when people are out at night, taking much needed patrols out of residential areas.

“I am here to make sure the Grove stays a safe community,” Sarnoff said.
Mr. Moe’s remains the only bar that has not shut down since the ordinance was passed. Owner John El-Masry cites the Grove’s decreased business as patrons head to other areas of Miami, where bars remain open past 3 a.m. El-Masry is asking for a level playing field in which all Miami bars have the same closing time.

The Coconut Grove last-call debate began back in 2007, when Sarnoff requested a legal opinion from the City of Miami. He asked three questions:

1. “Whether the city can regulate the hours of sale of alcoholic beverages where the establishment holds a state license?”

2. “Whether the city may change the closing time for establishments that dispense alcoholic beverages?”

3. “Whether the city may regulate the hours of a business in addition to the hours of sales of alcoholic beverages?”

The answer to all three questions: yes, according to the city attorney’s office, which offered these explanations:

The Florida Legislature in Section 562.14 of the Florida Statutes says, “Except as otherwise provided by county or municipal ordinance, no alcoholic beverages may be sold, consumed, served, or permitted to be served or consumed in any place holding a license under the division between the hours of midnight and 7 a.m. of the following day.”

The statute covers alcoholic beverages that are “sold, consumed, served, or permitted to be served or consumed.”

Since the Legislature granted cities the authority to set the hours past the state cut-off time, the City of Miami extended its own last-call to 3 a.m. – but also inserted a clause to allow bars that are considered night clubs, supper clubs, or located in motels or apartments with 100 or more guest rooms located in a retail or waterfront specialty center to serve alcohol until 5 a.m.

Coconut Grove met that description – as did Brickell Village district, Brickell Riverside district, Media Entertainment district and the Overtown district — so the drinks were poured until 5 a.m. The Park West district was even less controlled, with “no restrictions on hours of operation.”

To Sarnoff’s second question, “whether the established hours of operation is a property right,” the City Attorney’s office said “Florida courts have not considered the hours of operation to be a property right. Rather the courts have treated the hours of operation as merely part of a regulatory scheme which may be changed pursuant to the legislative discretion of the municipality or county.”

And third, could the city force the closure of a business and not just the termination of serving alcohol? The City Attorney’s Office replied that Florida Courts have found that there would have to be a “reasonable basis for the adoption of the hours within which the operation is prohibited,” so if there’s a reasonable basis, “the city can require an establishment to close its business operations completely when the time for sales of alcoholic beverages has ended.”

It was all set forth in the City of Miami Office of the City Attorney Legal Opinion #07-015, in response to the Honorable Marc. D. Sarnoff, Commissioner District 2 — just 6 days before Halloween in 2007.

In 2008 the ordinance was passed that pushed Coconut Grove’s last-call back to 3 a.m.

On Thursday, March 25, according to the Miami Herald, Miami City Commissioners will vote on a proposed ordinance that will require all bars in Miami to obtain a permit if they want to serve alcohol until 5 a.m. Downtown bars are exempt from the proposed ordinance.

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