The move could require businesses that want to remain open past midnight to apply for a special-use permit, which would periodically need to be renewed.
Recent shootings in Uptown Dallas have prompted a City Council member to consider advocating for new permitting requirements for bars and other businesses open late in the neighborhood.
Council member Paul Ridley said enacting a late-hours overlay — similar to one in place for Lower Greenville — “might be worth considering for Uptown.” It could require businesses that want to remain open past midnight to apply for a special-use permit, which would need to be renewed periodically.
Ridley’s comments followed a spate of shootings, some late at night and on weekends, in the neighborhood home to a number of bars and nightclubs.
Most recently, Jerriun Maxie, 42, was fatally shot outside Sidebar, just off the main nightlife stretch, on Feb. 7. Marcus Jawan Branch, 39, was arrested on a murder charge days later.
Other recent incidents include a Dec. 12 shooting that left two wounded outside a bar, and at least three shootings last year in which gunfire hit bystanders. Video of one of those shootings, which showed a man firing a handgun indiscriminately down McKinney Avenue, went viral.
Complaints about violence and noise in Uptown are nothing new — and neither are proposals intended to curtail them. Similar discussions have faced fervent opposition from business owners worried about new fees, as well as from developers and property owners concerned that the requirements might force businesses out.
New permitting requirements could represent another point of contention between bar and club owners and some of the 13,000 people who live in Uptown — a relationship that has, at times, been acrimonious.
Handful of clubs or a ‘strong gun culture’?
Kathy Stewart, executive director of Uptown Dallas Inc., a nonprofit group that manages public improvements in the neighborhood, thinks issues with violent crime started boiling over while businesses recovered from the pandemic. Some club owners, she said, tried to recoup losses by hiring promoters with poor reputations.
Dallas, unlike other major cities in the country, actually saw a drop in violent crime last year. Ridley’s district, which includes Uptown but also stretches to Lower Greenville and parts of northeast Dallas, has seen a 9.2 % decrease in crimes against people, including assault, homicide and sex offenses, so far this year. Year-over-year fluctuations in crime rates are not uncommon and are not necessarily indicative of any larger trend.
The Dallas Police Department did not provide statistics about violent crime in Uptown despite repeated requests from The Dallas Morning News.
Stewart said Uptown Dallas Inc. is “all in and bringing in as many sources as we can to bear to Uptown” in terms of safety. The organization contracted with a private security firm to patrol the neighborhood during peak hours beginning this year.
While private security doesn’t have the authority to enforce laws, Stewart said the guards have de-escalated incidents, such as minor traffic accidents, that have led to violence in the past.
But Ridley noted the presence of police and security officers isn’t always a deterrent. Police were very close to the brazen, middle-of-McKinney shooting that went viral last year and responded within seconds.
Ridley said the problem lies with “a strong gun culture in our community.”
“This is, to an extent, the result of liberalization of gun regulation laws at the state level, which we have no control over at the city level, [and] has led to a number of unfortunate shooting incidents where people feel like it’s OK to settle disputes with firearms,” he said.
Ridley said he worries Texas’ new permitless carry law could exacerbate issues with gun violence.
‘Reluctant’ support
Buddy Cramer, managing partner of the Katy Trail Ice House, has resisted past attempts to implement a late-night overlay. But, he said, he has “reluctantly” come to the conclusion that it’s the best idea for Uptown.
“As a business owner, just saying, ‘Here government, we trust you!’ — that’s not usually where I come from,” Cramer said. “But I don’t know any other way to fix it. The situation has gotten pretty bad, crime-wise, and it’s concerning.”
While Cramer’s business is a few blocks removed from the main nightlife artery on McKinney, he said discussions about safety issues in Uptown have become hard to avoid. New regulations, he said, are a necessary hardship.
“It’s really kind of a shame that everyone’s going to have to go through this extra expense to get there because of a handful of irritating businesses,” he said.
Kelsey Erickson Streufert, a spokeswoman for the Texas Restaurant Association, said the group’s Greater Dallas chapter shares Ridley’s concerns about violence.
But, she said in a statement, “as we move forward with this important work, we want to collaborate with our policymakers to avoid unnecessary costs or regulatory burdens for local restaurants, many of whom are still struggling to rebuild from the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Ridley said his office is “working with stakeholders and evaluating public support for an SUP or similar ordinance regulating late-night hours,” but no timeline has been set for a vote. He added that he understands and appreciates “the interest in having a reasonable fee schedule.”
