At least for now, the city won’t crack down on bars. The city
council talked about a variety of policy options to minimize the
aftershocks of too much evening alcohol consumption in public
establishments, but declined to take any definitive action
Wednesday night.
At least for now, the city won’t crack down on bars.
The city council talked about a variety of policy options to minimize the aftershocks of too much evening alcohol consumption in public establishments, but declined to take any definitive action Wednesday night.
Instead, the body will conduct a workshop in late September to continue the discussion.
A number of options to mitigate violence, loitering, vandalism, vomiting and urinating associated with intoxicated bar patrons were discussed at length at Wednesday’s council meeting.
However, because the number and severity of incidents requiring police response have waned since the issue was last brought before the council in June, the need to enact new ordinances or policies is not as urgent.
“To have so few incidents (in recent weeks), I see a significant improvement,” Councilwoman Marilyn Librers said to Morgan Hill Police Cmdr. Joe Sampson, who nodded in agreement.
In June, Morgan Hill police asked the council to request a hearing about the alcohol licenses for two downtown businesses – Dirty’s Tap and Tacos and the M & H Tavern – before the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control.
The request was a response to rising violence associated with patrons of the two bars. In May, two violent incidents occurred outside the bars late at night – a stabbing near Monterey Road and Second Street May 9, and a shooting outside Dirty’s May 29. No one has been arrested in relation to the incidents.
Dirty’s closed in June because the ABC declined to renew its temporary alcohol license due to the high volume of police calls.
Also following the June 16 council meeting, police began conducting regular foot patrols in downtown Morgan Hill on Friday and Saturday nights.
“The foot patrols are very beneficial,” M & H Tavern owner Susan Hall said Wednesday.
Downtown bar owners are anxious about potential punitive action by the council. Hall noted that her bar employs security staff keep the parking lots outside the building clean, and bartenders and doormen are trained to notice when patrons are too intoxicated. Those who are already intoxicated when they show up at the Tavern are refused service, Hall said.
Furthermore, she added that if Tavern staff sense a potentially threatening situation brewing, they will “shut it down.”
Hall also wants to remodel the building’s front facade with large windows using a design that was approved by the city in 2003, and she wants to add an outdoor patio to the rear of the bar to keep smokers away from the front.
“Everybody’s paying attention,” said Hall, the owner of the only bar-only establishment in the downtown area.
Police have responded to three incidents allegedly involving Tavern patrons since June 16: a July 15 incident in which an intoxicated patron fought with the bouncer, a woman who drove away from the bar the same night and crashed her car on Third Street and was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence, and a July 17 incident in which a female patron threw a punch at a bouncer. She was later found heavily intoxicated, lying in front of the Tavern, police said.
Opening soon is Champs Family Bar & Grill, at 17330 Monterey Road where Dirty’s once stood. The restaurant has a new temporary ABC license, approved with a list of strict conditions that do not apply to most alcohol license holders, according to city staff and owner Adolf Sanchez.
Council members and city staff also discussed possible additional restrictions for downtown events such as the Mushroom Mardi Gras, Independence Day and Taste of Morgan Hill, which require special use permits. During the June 16 meeting, council members noted that many of the harmful alcohol-fueled incidents downtown happen on the weekends of these events.
One possible new condition for such events could be the submittal of a detailed “security plan” by permit applicants, City Manager Ed Tewes said. Such a plan would have to be reviewed and approved by city planning staff and police before the event can proceed.
Downtown resident Laura Gonzalez-Escoto said one problem with the events is that visitors often bring in coolers full of alcoholic beverages and beer, which is difficult to regulate. A supporter of a comprehensive “downtown alcohol policy,” Gonzalez-Escoto said the community should still be concerned even though the frequency of incidents has waned.
“When you have people that are so drunk they’re crashing their cars, or laying down on a floor, it’s pretty bad,” she said.
The council declined to implement the policy proposed by the Morgan Hill Downtown Association that would have discouraged new standalone bars from opening, limited bar seating and required food sales at ABC-licensed places. Deputy City Attorney Jefferson Billingsley said such a policy would lose some of its intended effect because it would only apply to new businesses.
Instead, the council could enact a new ordinance defining “nuisances,” and punish establishments that create them. Or the city could approve a “deemed-approved” ordinance that would allow the council to revoke a use permit after repeated violations.
But both of those options are time-consuming, and the city already has tools and ordinances that could have the same effect as a more extensive policy, Billingsley said.
The Morgan Hill Chamber of Commerce also issued a statement arguing against an extensive alcohol policy, noting it would discourage new businesses from opening.
Council members agreed that alcohol can cause problems that should be reduced if possible.
“Some very drunk people are still in these places, and that concerns me,” Councilman Larry Carr said.
But they were reluctant to force potentially costly restrictions on business owners. In response to a suggestion that the businesses where problems emanate pay for downtown police patrols, council members said that would be unfair since police are covering more area than just those businesses.
A purpose of the workshop scheduled for September will be to discuss the options in more depth and seek more input.
Even though it only has one bar that is regularly open past midnight, downtown Morgan Hill has become the focal point of alcohol-related problems – perhaps because the area is intended to be an attraction for visitors with regular outdoor summer events.
“I guess it’s because we’ve got good things going down there, so people want to be there, and more people means more of a chance of problems happening,” Mayor Steve Tate said. He added that many local residents tell him they bring their out-of-town guests to restaurants in the downtown corridor. “Which is what we want – we just don’t want them to bring their terrible drinking habits.”
