Background:
Commissioner Ricky Arriola was asked at the July 20, 2016 City Commission meeting to work with the Ocean Drive businesses and other stakeholders to negotiate a comprehensive proposal for improvements to Ocean Drive.
Proposal:
Attached please find a 10 Point Proposal that recommends several significant measures that the City and the Ocean Drive businesses should consider adopting. As the Proposal states, it was prepared by myself as well as several Ocean Drive hotel and restaurant owners and their legal counsel. I also worked and consulted with our City staff including – our Police, Code Enforcement, Planning, Legal and City Manager Departments. We also took into account the past recommendations of the Ocean Drive Task Force and recent recommendations from the City’s Historic Preservation Board.
A highlight of some of the major proposals the team is recommending include – (1) removal of the “gauntlet” along Ocean Drive; (2) significant reduction in music and loud noise; (3) increased safety measures, including the installation of lights along the alleys on Ocean Court; (4) restricting/prohibiting certain types of businesses on Ocean Drive and the MXE District; (5) increased Police and security presence; and (6) the creation of an Ocean Drive BID (Business Improvement District), among other measures. The attached Proposal has more details.
Our team spent hundreds of hours over the past 7 weeks working on this Proposal. We are eager to disseminate this to my colleagues on the Commission and to City residents for their consideration. It is our hope that the Proposal will be discussed and considered for adoption by the City Commission at our next meeting on September 14th.