HomeMy WebLinkAboutZB Transcript1
•
•
•
CITY OF MIAMI ZONING BOARD
COCONUT•GROVE, FLORIDA
RE: SEPTEMBER 8, 2003
ITEM NUMBER THREE
TRANSCRIPT OF ZONING BOARD ITEM NO. THREE
QUENCH SUPER CLUB 5:00 A.M. VARIANCE
BEFORE CHAIRMAN FERNANDEZ
TRANSCRIBED BY:
CYNTHIA REILLY
Court Reporter
954-614-4787
Sunrise, FL 33027
TOTAL ACCESS COURTROOM REALTIME TRANSCRIPTION
2
CHAIRMAN FERNANDEZ: Your name please?
OFFICER ECKERD: I'm sorry. Officer Audrey Eckerd,
City of Miami Police Department, also NRO, Neighborhood
Resource Officer for Coconut Grove.
Since the last meeting, I met with some of the tenants
who were in attendance some of which are here tonight, most of
which are not. I explained to them the noise ordinance and how
to handle it.
Just to give you an idea of where we are at, I
explained to them they have to have the officer respond to the
residence. We can verify the noise, in fact, is coming from
this particular establishment, Quench, and then we can go ahead
and put the nuisance abatement complaint together. I have not
had that.
I had one beep where the officers responded, and
basically, according to the three officers who were on the
scene, who were on the phone with me at the time, quote,
unquote, when the refrigerator kicked in, it made a louder
noise than what they heard coming from the Club.
There are 22 calls for service to that location from
July up until last night. I have all the documentation here to
show. Most of which are complainant refuses anonymous calls.
CHAIRPERSON HERNANDEZ: They are calling, but they
don't give their names, and they don't allow access to listen
to the noise?
3
•
•
•
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
OFFICER ECKERD: Right.
CHAIRPERSON HERNANDEZ: You only have one that is
official?
OFFICER ECKERD: I only have one that is official.
CHAIRPERSON HERNANDEZ: Okay, that doesn't sound good.
BOARDMEMBER: Ma'am, what are the complaints strictly?
OFFICER ECKERD: The 22 complaints that I have
established from July 1st, right up until, like I said, last
night, they are all loud music coming from the club, Club
Quench. Again, though, I had only one.
My beeper was supplied to all the individuals here.
They were told to call me any time of the day or night. That's
my job. I would immediately send units over to verify their
complaint.
This worked with the last clubs. The last owners were
horrible. That's why these people are so scared. We were
about a day away from closing down the last club, or going
toward nuisance abatement with it. They went out of business.
The new owners came on board.
The new owners appear to be doing all they can. All I
can do is assist if there is a noise complaint, but the
complaints weren't handled appropriately for the police
department to verify to the point where the Club, even I made
them put in off -duty police officers to have, at the time they
were opened, which they did. I schooled, personally, these
4
•
•
•
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
officers, and they have the bruises to show that they need to
stay on top of these noise complaints and respond to these
complaints. Again, they are all anonymous.
CHAIRPERSON HERNANDEZ: So, you do have off duty
policemen there now?
OFFICER ECKERD: Right.
CHAIRPERSON HERNANDEZ: What do they say about the
noise?
OFFICER ECKERD: Well, actually the ones are here.
BOARDMEMBER: Can you tell me why the anonymous
complaints don't result in anything?
OFFICER ECKERD: There's no complainant.
CHAIRPERSON HERNANDEZ: If they're anonymous, how can
they go there? Where are they going to go?
BOARDMEMBER: Because if they're anonymous, the police
don't respond?
OFFICER ECKERD: Oh, no, no, no. We have to respond
to every call. Basically, all we have to go on is we will
stand outside the location, and if we do not hear it, there's
not a problem.
Now, I understand the tenants are above. As in the
past, we have actually gone into their apartments. I mean, you
could see the pictures falling off the walls. You could feel
the base and things like that.
CHAIRPERSON HERNANDEZ: If it's an anonymous call, how
5
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
do they know it's someone from the building? It could be a
competitor who wants to close them down.
OFFICER ECKERD: And which we have information, in
fact, that that's exactly what is going on with the clubs in
the neighborhood. It's very historical.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: Well ---
CHAIRPERSON HERNANDEZ: Well, wait a minute, you are
you out of line. We will give you another turn. He is next.
Tell him what you want him to say.
Go ahead, Officer, please.
OFFICER ECKERD: I would love -- I mean, frankly, it's
the position of the Police Department that I want the statement
to be made that Commander Watkins asked that we made the
statement. The Zoning Board and director of Zoning are not out
there at 3:00 in the morning. You guys are all at home in bed.
You are not handling the fights, the noise, being woke up, not
being whatever. As far as the Police Department is concerned,
we would like to see all of these establishments closing at
2:00. But for me to stand here and tell you that this is a
problem, I do not have that appropriate documentation.
BOARDMEMSER URGUIOLA: Please, I understand that we
have the law here that people don't have to identify themselves
for a claim.
OFFICER ECKERD: I'm sorry, I didn't quite hear you.
CHAIRPERSON HERNANDEZ: he says he understand that
6
•
•
•
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
there is a law here that people don't have to identify
themselves to make a claim.
OFFICER ECKERD: No, no. You are misquoting. I know
exactly what you are saying.
BOARDMEMBER URQUIOLA: You go anyway to see the
complaint?
OFFICER ECKERD: Oh, no. We have to respond. If you
call the Police Department right now and tell us there are
aliens landing in your living room, you will have police
officers there.
BOARDMEMBER URQUIOLA: I understand we have got to
protect the lives of the people that live there.
OFFICER ECKERD: Right, but the problem is that if the
tenants themselves are being woken up, and I have a couple of
the information here that I had pulled up and we --
BOARDMEMBER URQUIOLA: You personally wanted your men
to know exactly hear the noise is like the neighbors say?
CHAIRPERSON: Well, they would have to be inside of
the apartment, and if they don't allow them into the apartment
then they cannot corroborate the noise or not.
BOARDMEMBER URQUIOLA: It was in the street, in the
street?
OFFICER ECKERD: We had a separate club with a similar
problem. I, myself, responded on several occasions as well as
the officers when he called. What the problem was, was not the
7
•
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
club across the street. It was the vehicles driving back and
forth on Bayshore Drive with the boom boxes going.
We addressed that for poor tenant to get some sleep,
but we could not hold the club responsible. We are at every
single call, but if we do not have a complainant that will
allow us up to their room to physically stand in their
residence and verify the fact this music is, in fact, coming
from the club and is, in fact, keeping them awake, I have
nothing to go on.
All we can do is stand outside the club on the street,
as far as the noise ordinance goes, making sure that after
11:00 at night no noise is coming from the club. That's all we
can do. And when it's not, I have nothing.
CHAIRPERSON HERNANDEZ: Officer, I want to thank you
for coming because it is very discouraging when the neighbors
come up and say; "well, we call the police and the police
doesn't come" and you're not here to defend yourself; so I am
very glad that you are here and you are stating things that
appear on the record.
BOARDMEMBER: Is the club, this location here, I
notice that it's right across the street from another club.
Are they still in business?
OFFICER ECKERD: Mezzanotte you are referring to?
BOARDMEMBER MARTELL: Yes.
OFFICER ECKERD: It's, well, a club, a restaurant, a
8
•
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
club, and they're still in business, yeah.
BOARDMEMBER MARTELL: This club is different? It's
not a restaurant club?
OFFICER ECKERD: Yeah, I still believe it's a
restaurant club. I don't think they have their nightclub
license. I think they have their restaurant. license, I don't
know.
BOARDMEMBER MARTELL: How do they survive?
OFFICER ECKERD: Well, the difference is, again
though, on behalf of the tenants, there is no one living above
Mezzanotte, where there is above Quench. But we have seen a
significant improvement.
All I can say is as long as I have been in charge of
Coconut Grove, I have never had anyone at that location more
diligent working with the Police Department to resolve the
issue.
BOARDMEMBER: Is there a difference in noise ordinance
in a commercial area versus a residential area?
OFFICER ECKERD: No, there's no difference. There's a
lengthy noise ordinance that can basically be used to grow as
many different heads and can be used to assist the victim of
the noise complaint. The problem is that in this particular
case, they cannot have any music emanating from the
establishment from 11:00 at night until 7 in the morning.
Nothing. We need to hear a pin drop.
9
•
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
Without being able to actually go into the
complainant's home and hear that, in fact, the noise is coming
up through the air-conditioning ducts, or whatever is bothering
them, all I can do as law enforcement is stand outside of their
location and verify that nothing going on indoors is being
heard out on the streets. And when that occurs --
BOARDMEMBER: Madame Chairman, Officer, during the day
if noise over a certain decimal, you have no law to govern that
at all?
OFFICER ECKERD: Well, correct me if I'm wrong, but I
believe the daytime noise with a decimal meter involvement only
deals within the city, construction noise. Any noise, the way
the noise ordinance reads is any noise that disturbs the area
in general. It could be 12:00 in the afternoon. If there is
noise that is bothersome to the public, you know, then it can
be addressed. But there is no gray area from 11:00 at night
until 7 in the morning, I don't want to hear boo coming out of
your club.
BOARDMEMBER: Well, my concern is with what about
Saturday and Sunday when people are off from work and the
volume of the noise is above the decimal which is allowed,
there is no laws that officers come out and make an arrest or
make a complaint?
OFFICER ECKERD: You are getting me a little confused.
BOARDMEMBER: Noise is noise whether it's at night or
10
•
•
•
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
at day.
OFFICER ECKERD: And you are correct.
BOARDMEMBER: The person working at night will sleep
in the daytime, he can't call your office?
OFFICER ECKERD: No. You are exactly right. If there
is someone who works at night and sleeps during the day is
going to notify the police officer and say that you know,
"look, I work at nights and sleep during the day. This noise
is emanating all the way from across over here," then we would
have recourse to explain to the tenant why they are a bother,
which would involve the noise statute. Like I said it has four
separate, "any loud boisterous noise in general" is the way the
statute reads, is a problem.
But what I am referring to is the nighttime when this
establishment is peeking, from 11:00, there's a separate
ordinance in there for bands, phonographs, live bands, any kind
of jukeboxes, things like that. That's from 11:00 at night to
7 in the morning, I don't want to hear anything going on in
your club period, and you will be held responsible.
But, again, if they don't allow me into their
residence, I have no idea what they are hearing if they are
hearing it,
CHAIRPERSON HERNANDEZ: Thank you, Officer.
11
CERTIFICATE
I hereby certify that the foregoing is an accurate
transcription of proceedings in the above -entitled matter.
D
DA'I(E
L/_
RF '"LLY, court ,R porter
954-614-4787
Sunrise, FL 33027
Quality Assurance by Proximity Linguibase Technologies