VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. – The City Commission of Daytona Beach is considering a rule that would force bar owners to close their establishments an hour earlier.
The current proposal on the table would mandate owners stop serving at 1:30 a.m. and close the doors at 2 a.m.
Wednesday night, commissioners voted 7 to 0 to rewrite the ordinance instead.
[TRENDING: 3 residents of The Villages arrested for casting multiple votes in 2020 election | DeSantis seeks new law to keep Critical Race Theory out of Fla. schools, workplaces | Become a News 6 Insider (it’s free!)]
Commissioners said the new version will match the bar closing times of surrounding cities.
Stephen Barnes lives near several bars along Seabreeze Boulevard and said he is tired of the early morning raucous.
“It’s like boom, boom, boom, you’re living next to a bombing range,” he said.
Barnes said he hopes the city votes to end at 3 a.m. close times at the bars.
“I know from experience that that last hour can be quite troublesome,” Barnes said.
This is not the first time the city tried tackling this issue.
Daytona Beach Mayor Derrick Henry said for years he has been working to relieve stress on residents who live nearby and police.
“Our police are overworked, this has a lot to do with why this is necessary,” he said.
Considering inflation, City Commissioner Stacy Cantu said she is concerned about how this will impact the businesses.
“I just think we’re going to be hurting our businesses to even do something like this now,” Cantu said.
The city will vote on the new version in February.