The Miami Beach City Commission voted unanimously Wednesday to add the question to the November 7 ballot. That vote came less than two weeks after Mayor Philip Levine proposed the idea following fatal shootings on one of the busiest holiday weekends of the year in South Beach.
Venues that are completely enclosed or that are located "entirely within hotels" would not be affected by the new rule, if voters approve it.
Critics say the ordinance could pose an economic risk. Local business owners argued that a restriction on liquor sales could have an outsized impact the city’s bottom line.
"Let’s not take this decision and then end up in the same place next year because it hasn’t solved the crime. Because there’s no evidence to show that these particular venues... are resulting in this crime," says Ceci Velasco, interim director of the business group Ocean Drive Association.
