If you run a noisy bar downtown, prepare to start closing your doors after midnight – 11 if it’s a weeknight. Literally closing the door, not closing in general.
Sound absurd? It’s not, really.
In an effort to deal with burdensome and frequent noise complaints in the burgeoning downtown St. Pete nightlife scene, City Council member Karl Nurse is asking his colleagues to collaborate on a plan.
The board voted unanimously, with Wengay Newton abstaining due to an absence, to send the matter to the Public Services and Infrastructure Committee. That committee meets March 12.
Nurse highlighted the problem as a nuisance for officers who are called out to investigate loud bars and parties when their hands are largely tied by city policy.
“It’s an enormous waste of the officers’ time because it doesn’t actually get anything done,” Nurse said.
He pointed out that of more than 300 calls for noise complaints, very few of those calls resulted in citations.
Nurse said the city’s legal department has come up with some ideas to change that and will continue discussing possible ordinances that will have enough teeth for officers to enforce.
And, no joke, one of them also includes closing doors after midnight on weekends and 11 on weekdays.
