The latest version of the Late Night Bar Bill, aka SB 58, has failed to make it through the California legislature, meaning bars and restaurants in West Hollywood and nine other cities will have to stick with the 2 a.m. nightly deadline for serving liquor. The bill would have allowed those cities to extend the alcohol serving and sales hour to 3 a.m.
The bill had gotten the support of the West Hollywood City Council as well as the California Restaurant Association, California Travel Association, and the California Hotel & Lodging Association. However, the West Hollywood Public Safety Commission had voted against an earlier iteration of the bill that called for a 4 a.m. serving deadline. Then-Captain Sergio Aloma, who was head of the West Hollywood Sheriff’s Station, also expressed his opposition, citing public safety concerns.
The bill authorizing the 4 a.m. serving deadline was passed by the state legislature in 2018. However, then-Gov. Jerry Brown vetoed it. “California’s laws regulating late night drinking have been on the books since 1913. I believe we have enough mischief from midnight to 2 without adding two more hours of mayhem,” Brown said in a note explaining his veto.
The bill with a 3 a.m. deadline never reached Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk because it failed to attract enough votes in the legislature.
While support for extending alcohol serving hours has come from local nightlife and tourism-related businesses, it has drawn opposition from some residents, who fear it will result in more drunken driving and already are seeing several DUI arrests related to the legalization of recreational cannabis sales. WeHo is a city that depends heavily on revenue from tourists (the hotel room occupancy tax is the single largest source of revenue to the city’s general fund), and it is known as a nightlife destination, with its Boystown gay nightlife district on the west side of Santa Monica Boulevard and the many clubs on the Sunset Strip and ones such as Delilah in the Center City area.
West Hollywood also is the city with the most restaurant/bar liquor licenses per capita in all of Los Angeles County. Based on the number of restaurant/bar liquor licenses in 2015, WeHo by the Numbers reported that West Hollywood also ranked No. 1 in all of California in licenses per square mile, with 116. An organization called the Safe WeHo Leadership Council has been formed to develop ways to reduce alcohol-related problems in West Hollywood.
I think 3am is reasonable cities like New York, Chicago, and Miami all have later close time because nightlife is a large source of revenue to their cities. 1 hour doesn’t seem like a big deal, and it does make West Hollywood life more attractive.
PRAISE THE LORD! Even though I lean heavy towards Atheism.
But The importance to public safety (not just weho) is too important to have any such bill extending bar hours ever pass.
Aside from Ed Buck’s arrest, this is the best news I’ve read all day!
Sorry neighbors this is a blessing in disguise . We have enough crowds and crime and issues to contend with.