Smith wants all-night clubs to shut down earlier

Mayor says current anti-noise bylaw not working

Publication title: Edmonton Journal
Pages: A1 Front
Publication date: Jan 21, 2004
ProQuest document ID: 253129451
Author: O'Donnell, Sarah


Abstract:

Under a bylaw passed in August 2001, council prohibited anyone under 16 from entering the clubs, which are not allowed to serve alcohol but may play music until 7 or 8 in the morning. It required clubs to provide places for dancers to cool down and made owners responsible for activities outside their clubs as well as inside.

There are fewer raves and after-hours clubs today than in 2001. But the mayor said he continues to hear frequent complaints from businesses and residents living downtown, particularly around 105th and 102nd streets, near several all-night clubs.

Ticketing the clubs can be a challenge, [Jody Ponto] said. Officers discovered initially that if they ticketed a club, the company would shut down and reopen under a different numbered company, avoiding the previous infraction.

Full text:

EDMONTON - It may be time for the city to force raves and other all-night clubs to close at 3 a.m. like regular bars and lounges, says Mayor Bill Smith.

"Unfortunately, it's going to kind of open (the issue) up again, but I think it was my responsibility to bring it forward with the amount of complaints that I've had," Smith said.

The mayor reopened the rancorous debate Tuesday when he asked city staff for a report outlining the problems with all-night clubs, arguing a two-year-old city bylaw aimed at eliminating noise and loitering has not worked.

Local club owners could not be reached for comment Tuesday. But during the last round of the after-hours debate, club advocates accused council of trying to force limits on an aspect of youth culture it knew nothing about.

Under a bylaw passed in August 2001, council prohibited anyone under 16 from entering the clubs, which are not allowed to serve alcohol but may play music until 7 or 8 in the morning. It required clubs to provide places for dancers to cool down and made owners responsible for activities outside their clubs as well as inside.

There are fewer raves and after-hours clubs today than in 2001. But the mayor said he continues to hear frequent complaints from businesses and residents living downtown, particularly around 105th and 102nd streets, near several all-night clubs.

"We thought with some of the changes we made to the bylaw it would work pretty well, but I think it's time we looked at it again," Smith said.

Police Const. Jody Ponto, who patrols the after-hours club as part of his beat, said he would support changes to rules that govern raves.

The current bylaw is vaguely written and difficult to enforce, he said. Police deal constantly with problems such as loitering, drug use -- particularly methamphetamines -- and thefts tied to patrons of after-hours clubs, he said.

"A majority of the problems we're finding is a lot of kids just hanging out from 2 to 8 in the morning. Some are homeless, but some are from the rural areas out of town, they come into Edmonton and go to the rave club and they just end up hanging out all night around the downtown core of Edmonton."

Ticketing the clubs can be a challenge, Ponto said. Officers discovered initially that if they ticketed a club, the company would shut down and reopen under a different numbered company, avoiding the previous infraction.

"What we end up doing now is we ticket the numbered company, we ticket the owner and we ticket the supervisor or manager on the scene at the time."

Coun. Michael Phair, whose ward includes the downtown, said it may be time to make it tougher for after-hours clubs to get business licences. Then they couldn't open unless they were serious about being good neighbours.

"If it's a place that's made a major investment, it's easier to get them to take more responsibility for what happens inside, the patrons they have and what happens on the outside as well," Phair said.

The owner of one after-hours club said he thinks the issue has been settled.

"I don't want to see the debate reopened," said Tony Donahue of Club Y on 102nd Street and Jasper Avenue.

"If he (the mayor) wants us to close the same time as everybody else, it will put us out of business. We are an after-hours club and staying open late is our business."

Illustration

Colour Photo: File / Ravers dance at an all-night downtown Edmonton club.