There won't be a spring break curfew next weekend in Miami Beach.
Commissioners voted Monday to not extend the curfew that had been enforced Sunday night in response to two deadly shootings that occurred over the weekend.
The decision won in a 4-3 vote after a heated debate in an emergency meeting.
"We need to get ahead of this ... we can now predict that this is going to happen," commissioner Alex Fernandez said. "We’re getting ahead of the problem, but we’re also responding from the recurring problem of the three previous years … the worst economic impact is the impact to our city’s image."
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For the third year in a row, Miami Beach finds itself struggling with spring break violence, including two fatal shootings and unruly crowds, despite a massive police presence and activities designed to give people alternatives to drinking alcohol and roaming the streets.
The city imposed an overnight curfew that ended Monday morning but decided not to enact a second curfew next weekend, when the Ultra Music Festival will draw thousands of people to South Beach. It's the third weekend of spring break when the worst chaos occurs, said Commissioner Kristen Rosen Gonzalez.
Commissioner Ricky Arriola agreed, saying there may need to be metal detectors, security fences or other measures installed next year in certain sections of Miami Beach. He noted that dozens of businesses and their workers depend on the crowds the Ultra event bring in.
“A curfew is not a long-term solution,” he said. “We're taking it out on law-abiding businesses.”
The panel did decide, as it did last year, to force liquor stores in the South Beach area to close early at 6 p.m. next weekend. Officials did point out the city manager still has emergency authority to order a 72-hour curfew despite the commission's reluctance.
Mayor Dan Gelber wants the violence and disorder to stop.
“The volume of people in our city, the unruly nature of too many and the presence of guns has created a peril that cannot go unchecked,” Gelber said in a video statement issued Sunday. “It is clear that even an unprecedented police presence could not prevent these incidents from occurring.”
Gelber added: “We don't ask for spring break in our city. We don't want spring break in our city."
Miami Beach police reported at least 322 arrests on a variety of charges between Feb. 27 and Sunday. Gelber said more than 70 firearms were confiscated in that time. This has been happening despite police officers working up to 14-hour shifts six days a week, according to a city emergency declaration.
