At the request of Commissioner Alex Fernandez, a discussion item (CY Y) was referred to the Public Safety and Neighborhood Quality of Life Committee (PSNQLC or Committee) at the February 1, 2023 City Commission meeting by Commissioner Alex Fernandez to consider amending the City’s Special Event Guidelines for the purpose of providing residents with additional prior notice of application for special event permits.

On March 22, 2023, the Tourism and Culture Department (TCD) staff provided an update at the PSNQLC meeting regarding resident notification procedures. The update included information on recent increased/enhanced resident and neighborhood notification pertaining to large-scale events. As an example, staff discussed the upcoming National Cycling League (NCL) event and the enhanced notification which included a printed flyer which was hand delivered to affected properties due to the major impact of the event of the event.

On June 21, 2023 the Department provided a subsequent update to the PSNQLC. At the time, the committee members discussed the need to increase the notification requirements for special event applications. Various factors, including size and scope of events, impact to the community, and the location of proposed events were discussed in an effort to determine parameters for the enhanced mail notice requirement. Ultimately, the Committee recommended to include a mail notice requirement as part of the the Administration’s planned revisions to the Special Event Guidelines, to be approved by the City Commission.

The City of Miami Beach hosts a wide variety of special events that enrich the community for both visitors and residents. To mitigate the ever-increasing demands made on City resources and infrastructure, special event permit applicants are required to present proposed special event activities to potentially impacted neighborhood associations and appropriate City departments. This process assists in evaluating and assessing the City’s resources, both in terms of personnel and use of public property and rights-of-way, to adequately protect the health, safety, and welfare of the community.

Special events in the City of Miami Beach are subject to review and recommendation by the corresponding neighborhood or business association(s) and/ or as part of a monthly Special Events Community Review.

Currently, TCD hosts the virtual Special Events Community Review meeting on the third Thursday of every month. The invitation for the monthly meeting is sent to City personnel, event producers and community stakeholders. Additionally, TCD staff publicly notices the monthly meetings through the City Clerk’s Office, as seen in Exhibit A. 

On July 26, 2023, the City Commission approved Resolution No. 2023-32701, authorizing a revision to the Special Event Guidelines, which included the following language in reference to the enhanced mail notice for a trial period of six (6) months.

In addition, for large events with an attendance exceeding 1,000, applicants shall provide: 

• mail notice to any registered neighborhood association where the proposed event will be located,
• mail notice to all property owners within a 500-foot radius if the special event is being activated west of the dunes,
• mail notice to all properties within 1000-foot radius if the special event is activating beachfront, east of the dunes,
• with the mail notice to specify the date and time that the proposed event will be considered at a scheduled Special Events Community Review meeting, and include the Tourism and Culture Department on copy, for verification purposes.

On September 13, 2023, the City Commission voted to reconsider the July 26, 2023 Resolution authorizing a revision to the Special Event Guidelines, and remove the above-referenced enhanced mail notice from the guidelines. The Administration was asked to provide an update at a PSNQLC meeting on efforts to provide other forms of enhanced notice to residents for applications being reviewed at monthly Special Event Community Review meetings.

In the short period of the enhanced mail notice requirement, two (2) events (the South Beach Seafood Festival and New World Symphony) were affected. The Administration was able to gather information/observations on the feasibility and cost of mail notices for these events.

•  In general, the radius for public notices is taken from the boundaries of a property, as determined by a survey and digital records of the geometry of the parcel of land. However, in the case where events take place on the sand, it is difficult to measure the 1,000-foot radius because there is no exact location or boundary to take the radius from.
•  The mailing list would only consist of property owners, not residents or tenants. The notice would also be mailed to the property owner’s mailing address as listed by the Property Appraiser. If the owner lives in Canada, for example, they would receive the notice in Canada. Although property ownership is included in public records, tenant/renter information is not.
•  The approximate cost of mailers for an event ranges from $1,000-$3,000.

ENHANCED NOTIFICATION UPDATE

The Administration has continued to take various steps to enhance notifications to City residents and neighborhood associations of upcoming special event application reviews by implementing the following:

•  Monthly Special Event Community Review meetings are publicly noticed through the City Clerk’s office, providing residents with dates, time, and meeting login information in advance.
•  An electronic email blast was restarted in November 2023 with more than 2,000 subscribers. An email is sent with the agenda of the upcoming Community Review meeting, making residents aware of events proposed in their area, as seen in Exhibit B.
•  The Administration has worked with the Information Technology Department to create a link to subscribe to the “Special Event” newsletter, as seen in Exhibit C.
• For events that are expected to have a high impact on the community and City services, a separate community meeting is scheduled. TCD has worked with the Neighborhood Affairs Division to schedule and promote virtual community meetings, as seen in Exhibit D.

 Since the additional notification strategies were implemented, the Administration has witnessed increased participation of residents at monthly meetings. Through participation, residents have been able to share concerns, ask questions about the producers, and at times, receive feedback and real-time solutions to address concerns.

Ultimately, the Committee recommended to include the requirement as part of the Administration’s planned revisions to the Special Event Guidelines, to be approved by the City Commission.