AN ORDINANCE OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA, AMENDING THE CODE OF THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, BY AMENDING CHAPTER 106, ENTITLED "TRAFFIC AND VEHICLES," BY AMENDING ARTICLE II, ENTITLED "METERED PARKING," BY AMENDING DIVISION 1, ENTITLED "GENERALLY," BY AMENDING SECTION 106-55, ENTITLED "PARKING RATES, FEES, AND PENALTIES; EXCEPTIONS," BY AMENDING SUBSECTION 106-55 (B)(11), ENTITLED "P71 - 46TH STREET AND COLLINS AVENUE MUNICIPAL PARKING LOT," BY CREATING A MONTHLY PARKING PERMIT RATE OF $100.00; PROVIDING FOR CODIFICATION, REPEALER, SEVERABILITY, AND AN EFFECTIVE DATE.

The Administration recommends the City Commission approve the attached Ordinance at First Reading and schedule a Second Reading Public Hearing for February 13, 2019.  

On September 26, 2018, the Mayor and Commission approved the second reading of an ordinance amending the parking rates at Municipal Parking Lot No.  P71, located at 4601 Collins Avenue. The approved ordinance amendment transitioned operation from an hourly rate to a flat rate of $20 for visitors and $6 for residents, 24 hours a day. This excluded any availability of monthly parking at this location.  

Upon the Administration’s advanced communication of this change in operation to users of P71, hospitality industry employees from the surrounding hotels, including their collective bargaining representative UniteHere Local 355, inquired about the increase and have since been in opposition of this change in operation at the subject parking lot.  

In response to this opposition, the Administration proposed the following  accommodations for hospitality industry employee parking alternatives. UniteHere Local 355 and the employees they represent support it.  

Hospitality Industry Employee Accommodations: 

•  400+ monthly municipal parking permits at various parking facilities along the 41st Street and North Collins Avenue corridors accessible through the City’s free trolley service have been identified and offered for hospitality employee parking at a deeply discounted monthly rate of $70.00.  This equates to a daily rate of $3.50 per day, based on a five day work week, and an award winning free trolley service.   

•  200 municipal parking permits (100 honored 6:00 AM to 6:00 PM and 100 honored 6:00 PM to 6:AM) will be made available at P71 at a deeply discounted monthly rate of $100.00, a 75% discount from the daily flat rate, based on a five day work week.  

•  Unite Here had concerns with their membership having limited opportunities to access these monthly parking alternatives. Therefore, the Administration has proposed that Unite Here Local 355 be the administrator of employee grouping for any and all of the 600+ monthly parking permits (400+ permits at multiple parking lots and 200 permits at biforcated shifts at P71).  

•  Adjustments to the City’s trolley route serving the 41st Street and Collins Avenue corridor to accommodate increased usage.

This multi-pronged plan provides reasonable  monthly parking alternatives to employees of the hospitality industry and increases parking availability at P71 for residents, visitors, and tourists.  

The Parking Department estimates this will reduce the projected annual revenue enhancement at P71 from $539,000 to $380,000, a difference of $159,000. However, this would be offset by the new monthly permit revenue generated at the other (park and ride) facilities along 41st Street and North Collins Avenue parking lots. The offset point is 190 monthly permits at these other facilities. This should be quite achievable based on the Fountainbleau Hotel’s own account of their employee parking needs.

Please note that the proposed $100 monthly permit rate is less than what hotel employees are currently paying at P71 through the metered hourly rate of $1.00 ($10 a day x 20 days a month = $200).

It should also be noted that Unite Here Local 355 has held labor/management negotiations with the Fountainbleau Hotel seeking  concessions consistent with those proposed herein by the City. The single concession proffered by the Fountainbleau is  25 on-property parking permits at a monthly rate of $100.00.   A more equitable distribution of employee parking concessions is recommended.

The Administration recommends the City Commission approve the attached Ordinance at First Reading and schedule a Second Reading Public Hearing for February 13, 2019.