Denver will not allow nightclubs to remain open until 4 a.m. after the City Council rejected the idea during its meeting Monday.
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The proposal was part of a broader ordinance, which the council did approve, to update and simplify the city’s licensing process for businesses such as nightclubs, venues and strip clubs.
The city’s Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection released a draft of the proposed changes, including the possible extension of nightlife, earlier this year. The change would have allowed clubs to remain open until 4 a.m., but under state law, alcohol would have continued to be sold only until 2 a.m.
DLCP Executive Director Molly Depluchian said during the meeting that the department had hoped the later let-out time could decrease violent incidents late at night.
“What results is a competition of resources, for a ride home, to find some food. People are at their peak intoxication, and so they run into each other, bump into each other and there ends up being some fights,” she said.
Councilwoman Jamie Torres proposed the amendment to remove the 4 a.m. element from the bill but said she would be interested in seeing a limited pilot program of the idea in certain parts of the city.
“This was one that I could not get entirely comfortable with,” she said. “I think we are not quite there yet on data that demonstrates that things get safer with a later exit time.”
Duplechain said the department would explore a possible pilot program.
The council approved Torres’ amendment 12-1 with Councilwoman Sarah Parady casting the sole “no” vote. The council went on to approve the remainder of the ordinance with a 12-to-1 vote, with Councilwoman Flor Alvidrez as the only dissenting vote. Alvidrez said she has heard from businesses who are concerned the new rules will add new liability for them.
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The rest of the ordinance is focused on updating the licenses for the first time since the 1980s. That included reducing the license types from 14 to three. The ordinance also adds safety requirements for clubs to follow, eliminates licensing requirements for some businesses and eliminates mandatory hearings for club licenses.
The three license types are for adult entertainment, nightclub entertainment for businesses with a capacity of at least 100 people and a limited entertainment license for smaller businesses that have live entertainment, a dance floor or target sports.
The council delayed the vote in July after a deadly shooting at a nightclub in southeast Denver. The shooting at Ultra Lounge East — which has since permanently closed after DLCP suspended the club’s licenses — left one person dead and eight injured.
The safety requirements in the bill include prohibiting weapons, requiring businesses to develop “safety and security plans,” mandating surveillance cameras and record keeping. An earlier version of the bill would have also required nightclubs to have security guards.
The new rules also require businesses to take “reasonable measures” to prevent “disorderly conduct” inside their facility, in any admittance lines and within 25 feet of their entrances and exits.
It will also require that all managers and club owners undergo a background check.
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