Initially, the changes would've taken the $100,000 gross annual sales requirement for a 3 a.m. bar and more than doubled it to $250,000 a year. The changes also would've altered the requirement that bars be 1.5 miles from a hotel with a minimum of 40-hotel rooms, raising it to 100 rooms.
"The necessary gross total sales will go from $100,000 to $125,000 annually," says Jim Ready, assistant manager for Regulated Industries. "Right now that should not affect anybody that currently has a 3 a.m. license. If it did affect someone, they'd have a full year after it was determined they weren't making it to still try and make that money.
"As far as the location goes, it used to be that you had to be a certain distance from a hotel or motel with 40-plus rooms," Ready says. "That's changing to a 100-room motel/hotel but that'll only affect anyone applying for a 3 a.m. license in the future."
Ready said that no bars seeking a 3 a.m. license in the future will be asked to make more than $125,000 a year. Every few years the amount will be reviewed for a potential increase. Under the new changes, there are no exemptions for entertainment districts.
A Public Safety and Neighborhoods Committee meeting is scheduled for 10 a.m. Wednesday, September 30, to decide the issue.