HomeMy Public PortalAboutLTC 062-2018 Automatic Tipping Ordinance Outreach and ImplementationBAL HARBOUR
- VILLAGE -
OFFICE OF THE VILLAGE MANAGER
LETTER TO COUNCIL
NO. 062-2018
To: Mayor Gabriel Groisman and Members of the Village Council
From: Jorge M. Gonzalez, Village Manager
Date: April 6, 2018
Subject: Automatic Tipping Ordinance Outreach and Implementation
The purpose of this Letter to the Council (LTC) is to transmit to you our outreach efforts
regarding the implementation of Village Code; Section 9-2 - Automatic Tip Regulations.
This ordinance was approved by the Village Council at the October meeting and became
effective on February 1, 2018.
In an effort to provide for the implementation of this ordinance, Village staff drafted an
informational letter for all the affected establishments. The letter provided context as well
as suggested actions needed to gain compliance with the ordinance. The establishments
were categorized as either restaurants, hotels or condominiums. The establishments were
then personally visited by the Code Enforcement Director to review the letter and answer
any questions associated with the ordinance.
The six affected restaurants were all located within the Bal Harbour Shops. There were
three restaurants; Makoto, Le Zoo and The Grill at Bal Harbour which do not currently add
automatic tips to their bills. The remaining three restaurants; Carpaccio, Santa Fe and
Zodiac only add automatic tips for groups of six or more. The ordinance allows for these
tips to be mandated. All the restaurants which add automatic tips have included the
required disclosures on their bills.
The three hotel properties; St. Regis, Sea View Hotel and Ritz -Carlton all add automatic tips
to their food bills. All of these properties agreed to add the required disclosures as well
taking measures to comply with the intent of the ordinance by adding distinctive features
such as asterisks or capitalization to their bills. The challenge encountered was that costly
software upgrades would be required in order to make additional changes to their existing
bill formats. The remaining hotel property, Quarzo Bal Harbour, does not currently add
automatic tips to their bills nor do they serve food.
There are twelve condominium properties which are all located in the Ocean Front District.
There are three which do not have a restaurant associated with the property. Those
LTC 062-2018: Automatic Tipping Ordinance Outreach and Implementation
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properties are the Tiffany, Plaza of Bal Harbour and the Kenilworth. The remaining nine
properties all have restaurants which are associated with the property. Those properties
are; Majestic, Bal Moral, Bal Harbour Tower, The Palace, Bal Harbour 101, Oceana, Bellini,
Carlton Terrace and the Harbour House.
As a result of these site visits, a situation unique to the condominium properties became
apparent. The condominium properties which have restaurants as accessories are only
open to residents and their guests. Additionally, these properties subsidize the operation
of the restaurants through the association and maintenance dues for each property. The
majority of these restaurants, excluding the Carlton Terrace and Bal Harbour 101, add a
service charge. The residents are credited for the amount of food they consume through
a monthly statement system. The servers at these restaurants, in many instances, are not
compensated through the tips but rather by receiving a higher hourly wage. On its face, it
appears the intent of the ordinance did not account for this situation in where the
restaurant may meet the statutory definition of a public eating establishment but is not truly
open to the public. Furthermore, according to Village Code; Section 21-281(8) f -
Permitted Uses, requires that any of these properties wishing to be open to the public seek
Village Council approval.
The implementation has revealed that the restaurant and hotel properties have not
encountered significant issues in complying with the ordinance. However, it appears the
current configuration of the condominium restaurants may not be in line with the original
intent of the ordinance. As such, we have prepared a modest housekeeping amendment
to the ordinance which exempts the Ocean Front restaurants within residential
condominium buildings as long as they exclusively serve their respective residents and
their guests, but not open to the general public. The amendment will be presented at the
April 17, 2018 Council meeting for your consideration.
Should you have any questions or require additional information, please contact Code
Enforcement Director Mauricio Escarra or me directly.
JMG/RF/ME