Drinking games voted out

The City Council approved tougher conditions of approval for downtown businesses selling alcohol or providing entertainment at its first meeting of the new year Tuesday.

The council approved a resolution to standardize conditions for new entertainment and alcohol sales permits. It was approved, 5 to 0, with Councilman Joe Carchio abstaining and Councilman Gil Coerper absent.

The new conditions are meant to “change the current nightclub atmosphere, which has created a public safety issue along with compromising the surrounding neighborhoods’ quality of life,” according to the documents.

The resolution bans drinking games and contests in restaurants and bars, limits hours of operation and adds conditions to make a safer environment. The popular drinking game beer pong is now outlawed in establishments. Beer pong is a game in which four players try to toss a pingpong ball into their opponents’ cups to make them drink.

The changes are just one step to try to make the downtown a safer place, Police Chief Ken Small said.

The city voted to increase fines for entertainment permit violators in December.

New businesses wanting to sell alcohol or provide entertainment will be limited to operating until midnight, except for establishments on the west side of Fifth Street and east side of Third Street between Walnut and Orange avenues, which will have to close by 10 p.m. Businesses will also be required to serve a full menu until one hour before closing and end policies requiring customers to buy a minimum number of alcoholic drinks.

Establishments must also illuminate all areas of the facility, and a conditional-use or entertainment permit must be obtained for any dancing or entertainment.

Permits for entertainment will prohibit outdoor promoters, all exterior doors and windows have to be closed during any entertainment, and any outdoor entertainment can’t be loud enough to be heard more than 50 feet away.

The new conditions will affect only new businesses, or if a business changes hands, the new owner would be required to get a new permit, Small said.

In other news, the council lowered the residential density allowances for the downtown when it reopened the Downtown Specific Plan.

The amendment was approved, 3 to 2, with Mayor Cathy Green and Mayor Pro Tem Jill Hardy voting no, while Carchio recused himself. Coerper was absent.

The plan was approved Nov. 4, but Green requested that the council reopen it to lower her vote on density. The Downtown Specific Plan is an update to a long-range planning document that dictates building and parking specification and design guidelines to increase development over the next 20 years.

A group of residents has opposed the updates for the plan every step of the way, holding rallies, circulating a petition and flooding public comment during meetings.

Several residents spoke during public comment expressing concern over the plan.