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County considers changing ‘last call’ time
By SUZETTE PORTER
| Article published on Monday, July 19, 2010 |
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CLEARWATER – People who want to drink alcohol past 2 a.m. have limited choices – drive to St. Petersburg or Tampa.
However, Pinellas County bar owners complain that a recent decision by the city of St. Petersburg to allow its bars and restaurants to serve alcohol to 3 a.m. is hurting their businesses.
Pinellas County Commissioners agreed July 13 to include the issue on the July 27 agenda. The meeting begins at 3 p.m. with any public hearing scheduled at 6:30 p.m. Meetings are scheduled in the fifth floor Assembly Room, Pinellas County Courthouse, 315 Court St., Clearwater. For more information, call 464-3485 or visit www.pinellascounty.org.
In a June 4 e-mail sent to 23 of the county’s municipalities soliciting their opinions, Commission Chair Karen Seel said requests had been coming in to amend the countywide ordinance regulating the hours for sale of alcoholic beverages from 2 a.m.to 3 a.m.
She said if the board were to approve the change, it would “establish countywide uniformity on the outside limits of closing hours.” She also said cities could be more restrictive.
Seel said because changes to the hours in which alcohol could be sold would have effects that crossed jurisdictional boundaries, the commissioners “are interested in whether or not your city would view this change favorably.”
As of July 13, 10 unfavorable responses were in the majority. Six municipalities had not responded.
Cities that said no or had no interest included Belleair, Belleair Bluffs, Clearwater, Indian Rocks Beach, Indian Shores, Kenneth City, North Redington Beach, Pinellas Park, Redington Beach, Safety Harbor and Seminole.
Belleair Beach said it had “no issue” with the change, as it has no commercial businesses. The only cities that advocated extending the hours for alcohol sales were Gulfport, Oldsmar, St. Pete Beach and South Pasadena.
Largo did not respond to Seel’s request, but the commissioners said during a July 6 meeting they would favor a change in the hours if the county amended its ordinance.
Treasure Island and Madeira Beach remain undecided. No response was heard from Belleair Shore, Dunedin, Redington Shores or Tarpon Springs.
Some cities, such as Belleair and Seminole, gave no opinion in their response, and simply said there were not in favor. Others, such as Clearwater, have taken official action. Clearwater said no to extending the hours at its June 17 meeting.
Still others expressed clear opinions. Indian Shores said that its staff and police chief do not believe the change would serve the public interest and would “only serve to exacerbate what is already a serious DUI concern through the county,” wrote city manager Jim Lawrence.
Mayor Bill Queen in North Redington Beach agreed, saying in his opinion, “nothing good happens after 2 a.m.”
Safety Harbor stands opposed with Commission Mary Lynda Williams writing that she is “adamantly opposed” and related her opinion was swayed by the last year’s accident in which a Safety Harbor resident was struck and critically injured by a drunken driver.
Safety Harbor Mayor Andy Steingold responded saying “what is the purpose of such a change than allowing a few more alcohol sales, night clubs to stay open later and potentially more DUIs and traffic fatalities. Most of our citizens are in bed before then (3 a.m.).
No formal discussion have taken place in Pinellas Park, but Tim Caddell, the city's government relations administrator, responded to Seel’s e-mail and said “indications are that Pinellas Park does not support the extension of hours for sale of alcoholic beverages but will accept and enforce any changes that you and the Board of County Commissioners deem necessary.”
Belleair Bluffs also said it did not oppose a change to the countywide hours, but would not implement them within its city limits. Indian Rocks Beach said there did not seem to be much interest in extending the hours.
Only Gulfport, Largo, Oldsmar, St. Pete Beach and South Pasadena seem interested in extending the hours alcohol can be sold, and only Gulfport and South Pasadena said in their response they would extend hours within their city limits.
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Article published on Monday, July 19, 2010
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