Little Rock officials are thinking about making the city the next in the state to cut back on the hours when private clubs can sell alcohol.
Three times in the past month, the Little Rock Board of Directors asked city staff members to do research and write an ordinance that would make private clubs close earlier than 5 a.m., which is the latest time allowed under some state alcohol permits.
A handful of cities across the state have already made that move. Among them are North Little Rock and Fayetteville, which took the fight all the way to the Arkansas Supreme Court before being able to make private clubs close by 2 a.m.
Several Little Rock city directors asked last week for an ordinance requiring a 2 a.m. closing time for private clubs to be submitted for consideration at the board’s first meeting in December. But City Manager Bruce Moore said staff members would need more time to prepare for what he said is sure to be a contentious issue.
“We still have the budget to contend with and those discussions, and we’re nearing the holidays,” Moore said at the meeting Tuesday. “I think it would be wise to hold off on this until after the first of the year. If you remember, the last time this issue came before the board, the room was packed into the hallway.”
The Board of Directors has toyed with the idea of limiting the hours for businesses with private-club permits for more than a decade.
The issue first came up in 1998, a few months after the North Little Rock City Council voted to ban the sale of alcohol in any form between 2 a.m. and 10 a.m.
The idea surfaced again during a statewide push from counties that prohibit alcohol sales to stop awarding private-club permits that allowed those clubs to sell alcohol. It came up again in 2006 when a club owner floated a plan - which was turned down - to build a Park Plaza private club that would stay open until 5 a.m.
A similar discussion happened in 2010, when the board voted to require any private club that had a permit allowing it to stay open until 5 a.m. and then transferred into the city limits from another city or county to close at 2 a.m.
There are 13 private-club 5 a.m. permits left in Little Rock, 11 of which are listed as in active use, according to records at the Arkansas Alcoholic Beverage Control Division.
A permit can be inactive for up to 18 months before it expires, said Michael Langley, director of the division.
In May 2006, there were 133 private-club permits that allowed for 5 a.m. closing times statewide. As of last week, there were 84 in the state, Langley said.
“I know there is an argument that the people who work in bars and restaurants don’t get off until 2 a.m., and they need somewhere to go. But I’m not sure that outweighs the difficulties that accompany the late hours in terms of police and other public safety and public service needs,” he said.
Langley said cities and counties - including Fayetteville, Paragould, Washington County and Greene County - had passed local initiatives to limit bar hours to 2 a.m., despite clubs having the 5 a.m. permits.
The 5 a.m. private-club permits were created when the state had more manufacturing facilities with people working third shifts, from 3-11 p.m.
“That isn’t the case anymore, and the permits may have outlived their necessity,” Langley said. “I explain it to people this way: If the largest motorcycle rally in the country, Sturgis, closes at 2 a.m., why do we feel the need to stay open until 5 a.m.?”
Still, some cities are adamant about keeping the 5 a.m. permits. In August, the Pine Bluff City Council voted 6-2 against a bid to close clubs at 2 a.m. instead of 5 a.m.
The issue of earlier closing times in Little Rock arose again last week, when the owner of Club Trois on Asher Avenue went before the board, seeking approval for a zoning change that would allow his business to stay open until 3:30 a.m. under a private-club permit that he planned to buy from the Little Rock Association of the Deaf Inc.
Owner Tracy Johnson told the board that the 3:30 a.m. closing time was necessary for him to “stay competitive with other businesses in the area.”
Asher Avenue has a handful of private clubs that stay open until 5 a.m.
Several board members hinted that they would not vote for the late closing time but would support extending the number of days per week his business could be open. Johnson amended his request and received approval for more days but no extended hours.
The request prompted a conversation about the piecemeal approach the board has taken to approving permit requests.
“I don’t want to take away from any business’s ability to compete,” said At-large City Director Dean Kumpuris. “It seems to me that it would level the entire playing field if we were to limit the hours of operation for everyone to 2 a.m.”
Johnson said he wouldn’t object to that idea but until that happened, he would be at a disadvantage.
At-large City Director Joan Adcock said she doesn’t believe the argument that people who get off work late need bars to stay open to accommodate them.
“If that’s our logic, then why aren’t we asking for permits that close at 7 a.m. so that the service-industry employees at the 5 a.m. bars have a place to go?” she said. “It just doesn’t make sense to me. I would think people in the service industry, especially those with children, would want to go home and catch some sleep so they could spend quality time with their families.
“I would be fine with closing all of the bars at 1 a.m. or midnight, and that way it’s not just a few that are affected - it’s a citywide change.”
Other city directors raised concerns about deciding individually which clubs can operate with extended hours. Some of those concerns centered on making sure the city didn’t impede private business, and some city directors questioned whether the city treated different neighborhoods equally.
“It seems to me that the issues around hours of operation and public safety or crime only become an issue when we’re talking about certain patrons or areas of the community. And I hope I’m wrong about that,” said Ward 2 City Director Ken Richardson.
“I’ll be watching with great interest when this legislation comes forward to close all clubs at 2 a.m., specifically given the tone of our last meeting. It should be a no-brainer.”
Richardson said the city has less hesitation approving permits or making accommodations for businesses in areas targeted for revitalization, such as the downtown or River Market districts. But when it comes to areas of the community where there’s a perception about crime, the board scrutinizes requests more closely, regardless of the same need for revitalization.
“I hope if this legislation does come forward and does pass, that it really does level the playing field like my colleagues suggested. In my opinion, it may take more than creating a uniformity in closing times to create a uniformity in the vision we have for different parts of our community.”
Arkansas, Pages 15 on 11/24/2013