The battle over a proposed late night overlay that would particularly affect the Uptown bar and restaurant scene continues to heat up. It’s been raging since last year, when hospitality industry players first got wind of the potential change in zoning regulation (the new overlay would mimic the conditions set in place over Lower Greenville back in 2011).

Overlay? What are you talking about?

A committee of the Dallas City Plan Commission called the Zoning Ordinance Advisory Committee (ZOAC) is considering a city-wide change to the Dallas Development Code that would require restaurants, retailers, bars, and clubs to have a Special Use Permit (SUP) to remain open after midnight.

Okay…

Basically, the neighbors of bars (particularly in Uptown) have been complaining about patron behavior. The City is trying to show that those concerns have been heard. The measure they’re considering, however, would create more hoops for late-night businesses to jump through and potentially have a significant impact on their bottom lines.

So what are people saying?

Well, a large audience of people opposed to the change were present at a recent public meeting attended by Wes Hoblit, one of our client services specialists. As both a member of the Greater Dallas Restaurant Association and someone who works closely with lots of local bar owners, he noted that “there’s been a huge turnout that opposes this every time. Likewise, there doesn’t seem to be any real support for it.”

Save The Patio, a coalition of individuals and groups concerned by the measure, also hosted a meeting this week discussing what they referred to as a “midnight curfew.”

Have your own take on the matter?

Come share it at the next public ZOAC meeting – April 27 at 9 a.m., City Hall!

Watch this space for more updates on the controversial overlay…it’ll be interesting to see what happens.

SOURCE: Dallas Observer.