CHAPTER 6 - ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES:

AN ORDINANCE OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA, AMENDING CHAPTER 6 OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA, ENTITLED “ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES,” ARTICLE I, ENTITLED “IN GENERAL,” SECTION 6-3 THEREOF, ENTITLED “HOURS OF SALE,” TO PROHIBIT PACKAGE LIQUOR SALES AT RETAIL STORES (INCLUDING PACKAGE, GROCERY, CONVENIENCE, AND ANY OTHER RETAIL STORES, AS WELL AS GASOLINE STATIONS/SERVICE STATIONS) AND ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE ESTABLISHMENTS BEFORE 10:00 A.M. EACH DAY; AND PROVIDING FOR REPEALER, SEVERABILITY, CODIFICATION, AND AN EFFECTIVE DATE.

At its April 20, 2016 meeting, the Committee on the Homeless passed a resolution urging the Mayor and Commission to push back package liquor sales by two hours, from the current 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. This recommendation was specifically limited to package sales and not restaurant/bar sales. The Committee reasoned that alcohol abuse was an influencing factor in homelessness in our community and served as an impediment to engaging the homeless to accept services.

On June 8, 2016, the City Commission, at the request of Commissioner Joy Malakoff, referred the proposed ordinance to the Land Use and Development Committee at the recommendation of the Committee on the Homeless. On June 15, 2016, the Land Use Committee initially discussed the item and directed the Administration to prepare an ordinance that would be applicable to all retail stores. Pursuant to direction from the Committee, the attached ordinance was drafted. The specific revisions to Chapter 6 include the following:

• For retail package sales only (off-premises consumption), sales would only be permitted between the hours of 10:00 a.m. and midnight.

• For retail stores, including grocery, convenience stores, and gasoline service/filling stations, which primarily offer for sale products other than alcoholic beverages, the sale of beer and wine (off-premises consumption) would only be permitted between the hours of 10:00 a.m. and midnight.

The Land Use Committee approved the revised ordinance at its September 21, 2016 meeting and subsequently referred it to Commission for consideration. The Commission held the first reading for the ordinance on October 19, 2016.

In unanimously passing the ordinance at first reading, the Commission requested that the Administration return in six months with a report on the ordinance's impact. In addition, the Commission requested that a letter be sent to the Chief Executive Officers of the major retail chains in the City that permit single-serve alcohol sales asking that they follow the lead of Walgreens and voluntarily agree to prohibit these sales.

The Administration recommends that the City Commission approve the ordinance as proposed as a means of discouraging alcohol use among the homeless during morning early hours in hopes that they can be successfully engaged to accept services and end their personal homelessness.