Businesses that intend to serve alcohol past 3 a.m. in most parts of Miami will need to make their case to the city commission.
Owners of bars, nightclubs and other businesses that want to serve liquor after 3 a.m. in most parts of Miami will have to get permission from the Miami City Commission.
With little discussion, four of the five commissioners Thursday tentatively approved a proposed ordinance -- part of a package of zoning revisions as the city commission moves a step closer to enacting Miami 21, the city's new zoning code, in May.
Commissioner Frank Carollo was absent and did not vote on the measure. It will come up for a final vote April 22.
Under the current rules, Miami's zoning board handles all requests from businesses wishing to open an establishment serving liquor in the city.
The new ordinance would work exactly the same way -- unless bars, restaurants, hotels, bottle clubs and private clubs want to serve alcohol after 3 a.m.
But businesses in some parts of Miami -- such as downtown, the Southwest Overtown/Park West and the Omni CRA areas, will not have to get commission approval.
As for Coconut Grove, where the closing time of bars, restaurants, hotels and nightclubs has been a hot topic, the proposed ordinance would not change the 3 a.m. last call for businesses within the central Grove business district.
In June 2008, Commissioner Marc Sarnoff, who represents the Grove, led a successful effort to roll back last call from 5 a.m. to 3 a.m.
The move has split the community.
Patrick Sessions, a chairman of the Coconut Grove Village Council, asked the commission to defer any vote on the measure until the council could get input from residents.
In his opinion, the new measure is a bad idea.
``This ordinance politicizes the approval process for 5 a.m. clubs, which is something we don't need,'' Sessions said.
John El-Masry, the owner of Mr. Moe's Restaurant & Bar, said the 3 a.m. cutoff in the center Grove has been ``devastating.''
``I had 120 employees, now I'm down to 56 employees and my business has gone down 40 percent,'' El-Masry said.
``I'm pleading with you guys for parity. If you make it 3 a.m., make it 3 a.m. for everybody,'' he said.
At least one Grove resident, Nathan Kurland, defended the rollback.
``Our crime is down, our vandalism is down, our noise is down,'' Kurland said.
``Thank you for treating us differently in the Grove.''
After the vote, Commissioner Richard Dunn asked City Attorney Julie Bru how he could implement a 3 a.m. last call in his district, which includes neighborhoods such as Little Haiti, Overtown and Liberty City.
``I know this initiative is not popular,'' Dunn said.
``I don't care. I'm greatly disturbed by the crime in my district.''
BY TANIA VALDEMORO
tvaldemoro@MiamiHerald.com
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