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Late Night Business Accountablity
This fall, Ald. Bohl co-sponsored an ordinance change that will allow the Common Council the flexibility to suspend the licenses of problematic extended hours establishments, in addition to renew or non-renew their licenses.
The original "24 hour ordinance," gave the Council greater control over restaurants, gas stations, and other service establishments operating between 12 a.m. and 5 a.m., including the flexibility to deny undesired late night hours, or revoke licenses where conduct is problematic. The benefit of the ordinance is that it gives residents a stronger voice in controlling late night operations in their neighborhoods. The change, proposed by Ald. Bohl and Ald. Willie Wade, provides the Council the additional flexibility of suspending the license of a late night establishment from 10 to 90 days, mirroring the ordinance on taverns.
As the chief sponsor of the original ordinance, Ald. Bohl believes the subtle tweaking will give the Council more flexibility and lead to additional accountability by store owners.
"The problem we faced before was that minor problems at late night businesses could only be responded to with extreme severity or leniency," said Ald. Bohl. "The Council now has the ability to get the attention of a late-night businesses with minor problems though the form of a sanction versus a rubber stamp renewal."
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