Norfolk proposes new rules to crack down on downtown nightclubs and restaurants
City officials hope to rein in rising crime downtown with a new proposal that could allow the city government to more easily revoke permits from late-night clubs and restaurants.
The new rules would require restaurant operators to obtain a city-approved conditional use permit if they want to serve alcohol — a major change for a city where downtown restaurants are able to serve alcohol until midnight without such a permit.
Mayor Kenny Alexander told The Virginian-Pilot the proposal would “close a loophole” that has allowed problematic downtown restaurants whose permits have been revoked to remain open simply by reducing their hours from 2 a.m. to midnight while continuing to serve alcohol. If the new proposal is adopted, restaurants that break the rules would be banned from serving alcohol, he said.
“Is this trying to solve a problem? Yes,” Alexander said. “It will prevent (operators) from taking advantage of this loophole.”
The change would return the city’s previous zoning rules, when all restaurants were required to obtain a special exception, now known as a conditional use permit, to sell alcohol on its premises, according to city documents.
The proposal also makes additional changes to the city’s definitions of live entertainment and how DJs can perform in late-night establishments, and would require any restaurants with permits allowing a late-night closure to reapply every two years.
The City Council and planning commission will hold a joint meeting Tuesday that could allow the city to expedite the new rules.
Implementing a new ordinance normally requires a recommendation from the planning commission at a separate meeting prior to a City Council vote. If the planning commission recommends approval of the changes at the joint meeting on Tuesday, however, the City Council can vote on it the same day.
The proposed changes already are receiving some pushback from local performers and downtown business owners.
Charles “Rasputin” Burnell, owner of Slowdive Gallery in the Neon District, will speak in opposition to the proposal at Tuesday’s meeting. Burnell sees it as a “broad way to target businesses” instead of addressing the real problem, which he views as the easy access to guns.
“They’re just giving themselves more room to target businesses and it’s simply a maneuver designed to look busy when they can’t come up with any real type of solutions,” Burnell said Friday.
The city’s plan to crack down on restaurants and clubs in downtown Norfolk has been more than a month in the making, and follows several high-profile shootings downtown.
An Aug. 5 shooting outside Legacy Restaurant and Lounge left four injured, including a Norfolk sheriff’s deputy. An April shooting at MacArthur Mall left one dead and two injured. And a shooting in March outside Chicho’s Backstage on Granby Street left one person injured and three dead, including a Virginian-Pilot and Daily Press reporter.
A plan to force all businesses in Norfolk’s downtown district to close at midnight has garnered some support from community members and some city officials, but has not been discussed publicly by the council.
The city has also ramped up police presence downtown with new cameras, increased foot patrols and a potential plan to use drone surveillance to help deter the violence.
Daniel Berti, daniel.berti@virginiamedia.com
Staff writer Gavin Stone contributed to this report.
