The new guidelines proposed by the Morgan Hill Downtown
Association to reduce alcohol consumption and make downtown more
family friendly are far too punitive and an overreaction to a
problem that is more perceived than real.
Downtown is quieter, but new rules could limit new openings
The new guidelines proposed by the Morgan Hill Downtown Association to reduce alcohol consumption and make downtown more family friendly are far too punitive and an overreaction to a problem that is more perceived than real.
In August 2009, the association floated proposals to regulate downtown bars by suggesting they be required to stop serving alcohol by midnight. That was in the midst of a growing number of incidents involving violence, property damage, noise and public urination downtown late at night, when the bars would approach closing time.
Since then, and with the closing of one of those bars – Legends Bar & Grill – the downtown has been quieter. Now, the association has started circulating the new suggested guidelines to local restaurant and bar owners. They include:
-Any new bar or restaurant must stop serving alcohol by 1 a.m.
-Establishments serving alcohol must also offer a full food menu
-Doors and windows closed by 10 p.m.
-The bar area of a restaurant cannot have more than 25 percent of total patron seating, and meals must be offered in the bar area
-Dining rooms cannot be converted into bars or dance floors
These requirements could reduce or limit those interested in opening a downtown eatery.
Proposed regulations won’t reduce bad behavior caused by alcohol
People are less likely to get intoxicated to the point of causing problems if they can have dinner too, DTA board member and downtown resident Laura Gonzalez-Escoto told reporter Michael Moore. She said the rules are fashioned after those currently in place in the city of Campbell, which is a “happening place.”
The idea of closing at 1 a.m. could be good, closing the doors and windows at 10 p.m., no problem, but thinking that forcing restaurants to serve dinner and essentially banning dancing will reduce bad behavior is just silly.
“When you’ve got residents adjacent to restaurants and nighttime venues, it’s a good time to start looking at how to be good neighbors with one another. We want to be sure it mixes well,” Gonzalez-Escoto said, though she admitted that she wouldn’t like some of the proposed rules “if I was 23.”
Future downtown residents will need places to gather and enjoy nightlife
At some point in the future, there could be more than 500 people living smack-dab in the middle of downtown, and they’ll more than likely be young singles or the retired generation, not families. Those people are going to need nearby entertainment and night life, and if there’s more people living downtown, they may self-police the area for their own benefit.
If most of the problems occur after midnight, perhaps an idea not suggested by the association would be to increase the cost of a drink, say $.50 after midnight, and use that money to fund an officer who concentrates on the downtown area.
