The city council voted unanimously Tuesday to force all bars in the city to close by midnight Sunday through Thursday nights. On Friday and Saturday nights, local bars will be permitted to remain open until the state-mandated closing time of 2 a.m. the following day.
The council said they reserved the right to change the ordinance again any time they wanted, because the purpose of the ordinance, in reality, is to restrict bar operations in the downtown area and not necessarily in other areas that might be developed away from residential areas.
“There are going to be opportunities as our city evolves to further amend the hours as the need arises,” Mayor Travis Mitchell advised council members before they voted on the ordinance.
“I can see this being an issue later on,” council member Alex Villalobos cautioned. “For the downtown area, because it’s so close to residents, it’s a good start.”
“I’m not anti-bar,” said council member Robert Rizo, the ordinance’s sponsor. “I’m thinking about public safety. When I see an area that’s going against public safety, I really want to address that issue.”
Rizo did not address any specific public safety concerns he had about the bars hours of operation during Tuesday’s discussion.
As was originally presented, the ordinance would have allowed bars to remain open Thursdays through 2 a.m. Friday, but that provision was removed by an amendment offered by Rizo when he moved passage of the ordinance.
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