City of Gainesville - File #: 040424

• File #: 040424
• Version: 4
• Name: Bar Closing Times - Discussion with University of Florida Student Government (B)
• Type: Discussion Item
• Status: Held In Commission
• File created: 6/27/2005
• In control: Public Safety Committee
• Title: Bar Closing Times - Discussion with University of Florida Student Government (B)

Date	Ver.	Action By	Action	Result
6/27/2005	4	City Commission	Tabled	Pass
4/21/2005	3	Public Safety Committee	Discussed
2/17/2005	2	Public Safety Committee	Discussed
1/20/2005	1	Public Safety Committee	Discussed
9/14/2004	0	City Commission	Referred	Pass

Title
Bar Closing Times - Discussion with University of Florida Student Government (B)

Explanation
This item was referred from a Special City Commission meeting held on September 14, 2004 with UF Student Government, for the Public Safety Committee to review the bar closing hours. The Public Safety Committee held three public meetings and heard from University of Florida officials, the UF SAFE (Safe and Fair Entertainment) Committee, citizens, business members, and Police and City Attorney staff. The committee received and discussed reports from the Gainesville Police Department on staffing related to bar closings, from the City Attorney's Office on surveys of peer cities, from the University of Florida Assistant Director of Student Activities, from the UF Professor of Pharmacology, from the UF Director of Student Health Center and from the UF SAFE Committee. These reports are provided in the back-up documents.

Discussion focused on the impact of changing the bar closing hours from the current time of 2:00 a.m. to the extended time of 3:00 a.m. The SAFE Committee expressed concern with crowd dispersal and difficulty in accessing public and private transportation due to the crowds at 2:00 a.m. Their proposal to extend the bar hours was not to continue serving or selling, but to allow patrons the additional hour to leave the establishment at their leisure, making for a more efficient exit. The peer city survey conducted by the City Attorney's office reflected the majority bar closing and bar hours at the 2:00 a.m. to 2:30 a.m. hour, with only two outliers that closed at 3:00 a.m. The staffing report prepared by the Gainesville Police Department reflected an approximate $55,000 increased cost for officers to cover an additional hour, which would also result in an impact to all shifts. The report noted the extended impact on quality of life issues in the downtown/university area, such as boom box noise, additional traffic congestion and increase in ...