In latest nightlife plan, Orlando seeks permanent limits on new clubs
Orlando is seeking to transform its moratorium on new nightclubs downtown into permanent restrictions — but the effort is facing headwinds just weeks after it surfaced.
After a lengthy discussion this week, the city’s Municipal Planning Board declined for now to move ahead with a proposal to limit the downtown core to one club per city block, though it would have grandfathered in about 52 existing establishments.
That plan is only Orlando’s latest effort to rein in nightlife, joining numerous other regulations it has approved over the past two years on everything from noise levels, to security, to regulation of privately-owned parking lots.
The rules came following a spate of high-profile shootings late at night when thousands typically pack Orange Avenue and the dozens of bars that line the street. Adding to the pressure on the clubs, city leaders have been seeking to bring a more diverse mix of businesses downtown, refocusing the area from a Mecca for nightlife into a neighborhood.
The volunteer board voted 5-4 Tuesday against advancing the club limits and instead pushed the measure to its next meeting in June, with some members expressing reluctance to put a cap on the nightlife that has defined the city center.
“I guess I’ve always been a carrot vs. the stick guy,” said Rick Baldocchi, a professional engineer and board member. “How do we incentivize the businesses we want downtown as opposed to banning the ones where we think there are too many?”
For more than a year, the city council has had a moratorium on any new nightclubs downtown as city planners studied ways to regulate them. That temporary ban runs through September, creating urgency for the new limits to clear the planning board and the city council.
The latest effort says no new nightclubs can open or expand within 300 feet of an existing club in what has been dubbed the Downtown Entertainment Area.
Nightclub owners and operators have bristled about some of the new rules — with particular ire aimed at the costs associated with a new permit needed to sell liquor after midnight downtown.
The permit requires a host of security measures like operating ID scanners, tracking occupancy and paying into a fund for 30 off-duty police officers to patrol the area. Prior to the permit, the city was paying for the 30 OPD officers at a cost of about $40,000 per weekend, which officials argued wasn’t sustainable. Now, some business owners are saying their costs for the cops reach six figures per year.
Then last week, city officials imposed another new regulation, closing roads and limiting access to parking garages after 11 p.m. on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights. Some business owners told Spectrum News 13 they weren’t told ahead of time.
Dennis Wells, an attorney representing The Beacham Orlando, a theater on Orange Avenue that is one of the city’s largest nightclubs, told planning board members his clients fear this is the latest salvo in an effort to drive out nightlife.
“We’re starting to get concerned that this is the beginning of an attempt to get all nightclubs in the downtown to close at 12 instead of 2,” he said. “We’ve seen over the past several years what is now beginning to seem like a campaign to eliminate all of the nightclubs in the downtown area.”
A city planner contended that wasn’t the case.
“This is truly to address the overconcentration of nightclubs we have within a small area of our downtown and to encourage other uses,” said Lillian Payne, the deputy director of economic development.
Downtown sits within Orlando’s District 5, which lacks an elected representative on the city council following the suspension last month of Regina Hill
Two candidates – Shan Rose and Travaris McCurdy – advanced to a runoff this week, where downtown safety has been a topic of debate.
Rose said she thinks there’s a way to broaden the mix of businesses downtown without pushing out bars and nightclubs. She said she’d prioritize engaging with the industry about changes and plans to move forward.
“What they’ll get is effective communication,” she said. “That’s the one thing they’re missing right now.”
McCurdy declined to comment.
