UPDATED:
The D.C. Council Tuesday was expected to consider legislation that would curtail their previous extension of bar and restaurant hours during the week of President-elect Barack Obama’s inauguration.
Council member Tommy Wells, Ward 6 Democrat, was expected to propose changes to emergency legislation passed by the council earlier this month that extended last call for alcohol service in the city to 5 a.m. and allowed bars and restaurants to serve food all night.
The change in bar hours would make last call 4 a.m. and will require establishments to pay in order to participate in the extended hours.
Currently, bars can serve drinks until 3 a.m. on weekends and 2 a.m. during the week.
Mr. Wells also would require establishments to register with regulatory and public safety officials in order to participate.
The council’s original approval of the bar bill was criticized by some community members and U.S. senators.
Even some bar owners don’t favor the extended hours.
“I think it just promotes drunkenness and there’s really no reason for people [running the bars] to stay open till 5 a.m.,” said Dan Gardner, general manager of Capitol Lounge on Pennsylvania Avenue in Southeast. “The only people you’re going to have to deal with until 5 a.m. are drunk people.”
Sens. Diane Feinstein, California Democrat, and Bob Bennett, Utah Republican, sent a letter last week to council Chairman Vincent C. Gray and Mayor Adrian M. Fenty, both Democrats, urging the council to reverse its decision and saying extending bar hours would divert law enforcement resources away from their primary focus on security.
Sen. Dick Durbin, Illinois Democrat and chairman of the Senate Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Subcommittee - which oversees the D.C. budget - also sent a letter to Mr. Fenty and Mr. Gray Tuesday saying the concerns that the initial bill “could invite excessive drinking, strain law enforcement resources, and increase the risk of harfmful alcohol-related incidents” are legitimate.
“I urge you to support reasonable amendments to the act that would reduce the risk of alcohol-related harms during the Inaugural period,” the senator wrote.
The council also approved emergency legislation increasing parking meter fees in the city.
The parking bill, introduced by Jim Graham, Ward 1 Democrat, increases meter rates in areas Mr. Graham said are almost entirely downtown from $1 to $2 per hour. In many other areas of the city where rates are 50 cents or less, Mr. Graham said those rates would increase by 25 cents.
The council member said the increases will bring the District $45 million in additional revenue from fiscal 2009 to 2012.
The funds will be designated for programs serving low-income city residents like the Housing Purchase Assistance Program and the Local Rent Supplement Program.
Mr. Graham said the increases are necessary to help such programs and since the District has been forced to address a roughly $130 million budget deficit.
“We are faced with a situation now where we either continue to cut or we find some new revenue to save programs which address fundamental needs,” Mr. Graham said.
Jack Evans, Ward 2 Democrat, secured $1 million in revenue from the program to fund affordable housing in the Shaw neighborhood of Northwest. Mr. Graham also agreed to remove part of the proposal that would have allowed Saturday parking enforcement downtown.
Phil Mendelson, at-large Democrat, and Muriel Bowser, Ward 4 Democrat, were the lone dissenters. Mr. Mendelson equated the fee increases to a tax hike.
“This is the wrong way to go,” Mr. Mendelson said. “What we’re doing is we’re bootstrapping certain programs through this parking tax increase, and I think that is wrong.”
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