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Applicant asked to limit Collins Avenue restaurant music to ambient levels; planning board continues outdoor-entertainment request to June 10
Summary
After sound tests and lengthy neighborhood comment, the planning board continued a request from the applicant at 1350 Collins Avenue to June 10 and directed staff and applicant to calibrate sound levels and notify nearby hotels and residents.
An application to permit outdoor entertainment at a proposed restaurant at 1350 Collins Avenue was continued to June 10 by the Miami Beach Planning Board on March 4 after several on-site sound tests, presentations by acoustical consultants and more than an hour of public comment.
The applicant sought permission for either a DJ or live music with weekday and weekend hours that originally included evenings. Planning staff and the applicant's acoustician testified that ambient-level music (background music that does not interfere with normal conversation) could be heard barely, if at all, inside nearby hotel rooms during tests. However, stronger levels tested above ambient were audible inside rooms, and hoteliers warned that even intermittent audibility would harm guest satisfaction and business.
Bennett Brooks of Brooks Acoustics described the installed system as software-controlled and locked: "Everything that's installed is under control" and management settings would be password protected, he said. The applicant confirmed locked level limiters and software controls to prevent on-site performers or DJs from increasing output beyond preset maximums.
Nearby hoteliers remained concerned. Juan Pablo Donofrio, owner of the Shepley Hotel immediately south of the site, said he participated in tests and said only ambient-level conditions were acceptable: "If I can listen to the music inside the room, that's not good for us." The hotel owner told the board the tests showed non-ambient scenarios remained audible inside rooms even with windows closed.
After hearing the acoustician and extended public comment, the board approved a continuance to June 10, with several directions: the applicant will operate only at ambient background music levels until the board rules on the CUP; staff and the applicant will perform calibrated sound testing with code compliance present and will provide written notice to adjacent hotels and buildings of the test schedule; the applicant will reduce courtyard speaker levels and remove or relocate speakers that project onto Collins Avenue if directed. The board also asked staff to include neighbors in outreach prior to the June meeting.
Why it matters: The decision balances the applicant's request for outdoor ambiance and nightlife activation against the operating concerns of adjacent hotels and residents; the board asked for measurable, tested limits rather than broad, open-ended approval.
What's next: Applicant will continue to work with acoustical consultants and staff; the board will revisit the request at its June 10 meeting with sound-test results and any lodged complaints.
