An article in the July 1, 2022 edition of the Miami Herald detailed the plight of musicians playing music in South Pointe Park without a permit (and who were cited) on June 12, 2022, resulting in a petition signed by hundreds of people seeking to allow performances like it. Read more at: https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/miami-beach/article263075108.html#storylink=cpy. A copy of the article is attached as Exhibit A.

Currently, in most of Miami Beach, playing live music in public is allowed without a permit. The only restrictions are in South Beach, where City Code sec. 18-906 requires street performers to apply for permits through a quarterly City lottery. There are 32 permits available via quarterly lottery to perform at one of 16 designated performance areas south of 24th Street, such as Lincoln Road and Ocean Drive. South Pointe Park isn’t a designated area, so street performances are not allowed there. A copy of sec. 18-906 is attached as Exhibit B. Moreover, the City Commission previously prohibited amplified music and live performances at non-City produced events in South Pointe Park via Resolution 2010-27375. A copy of Resolution 2010-27375 is attached as Exhibit C.

Please place on the July 20, 2022 agenda a referral to the Public Safety and Neighborhood Quality of Life Committee to discuss the current regulations.

As part of the referral, I would request that the City Administration be prepared to discuss options for streamlining the street performer and special event permit processes, and also to discuss options for relaxing current policy regarding live music in a city park to be identified by the City Commission, to include, by way of example, the possibility of creating a zone within a park where a limited number of musicians could play unamplified music at specified times without a permit, while always protecting nearby residents quality of life.