Orlando City Council passes permanent limits on downtown nightclubs that take effect this fall

Orlando City Council has voted to pass new and permanent mandates on nightlife in downtown Orlando Monday.

The Council passed a new ordinance, taking effect this fall, that will permanently limit the opening of new nightclubs to one nightclub per block in Orlando’s downtown entertainment area, requiring a 300-foot distance between each new club.

City Council voted unanimously to pass this new ordinance. This was the second vote on the ordinance; the first reading last month moved forward with a 6-1 vote in favor of passing. The sole dissenting voice then, District 2 commissioner Tony Ortiz, switched his vote at Monday’s meeting.

Existing nightclubs that don’t conform to this distance limit would be grandfathered in under the proposal, although they could be prevented from expanding under these rules.

Concurrently, Orlando City Commissioners lifted a moratorium on new bar and nightclub construction. But any new construction would be potentially hamstrung by these limitations.

City leaders made the case that the new rule is another step towards a "safer" and more family-friendly downtown

During the meeting, District 4 commissioner Patty Sheehan did a little bit of pearl-clutching about the supposed dangers of downtown Orlando: "We just have too many bars and too much going on — and I walk through downtown, sometimes. I see the craziness. I hear the craziness!"

Beacham property owner Margaret Casscells-Hamby told Central Florida Public Media that perhaps the Council doesn't understand the attraction of downtown Orlando for locals: “The people who are trying to — who are wishing this — to happen don’t understand the market. Because the people who come downtown love having fun. … They’re in their 20s, they’re in their 30s. They come from all walks of life.”

This new rule takes effect on Saturday, Sept. 21.


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