Scott Deveau
Sun
City staff say they’ll need more power over the liquor licences of downtown bars if extended bar hours are to continue in Vancouver.
In a staff policy review before city council this week, the Vancouver Police Department reported a 35 per cent increase in public disorder downtown between midnight and 5 a.m. since the hours were extended, despite a voluntary rollback by bar owners in June to 3 a.m.
Karen Hoese, policy analyst for the city, said the review precedes more specific recommendations to come before council later this month or in early November. Based on the current review, she said, in order for the later hours to continue the city will need a stronger role in enforcement.
“We don’t think we should go ahead with the extended hours, unless we have the ability to control liquor licensing,” Hoese said. “We don’t want to take away someone’s business licence if there are problems, which is the only tool we have now.”
The provincial government controls liquor licence enforcement, including licensing for extended hours. If there is a violation, Hoese said, enforcement can take several months. She said the city needs swifter penalties to be effective and suggested the city ask the province to allow city council the right to revoke extended hours for licence violations. She said the proposal has met the approval of bar owners.
“Not all operators are equal, so they see it as a way of dealing with bad operators,” Hoese said. “In our research, cities with later hours work better with better local controls.”
Barwatch president John Tetti had not seen the proposals on bar hours and did not want to comment until he did.
In July 2003, the city allowed bars downtown and in Gastown to extend operating hours to 4 a.m. In November 2003, the trial period was extended for another year while consultations with the public and research with other jurisdictions was conducted. The policy review before council this week is based on research at a series of public consultations this year and contact with 16 other cities in North America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand.
The VPD will not support the continuation of the extended bar hours unless stronger enforcement measures are available.
“We are still seeing routine violence on a regular basis and extreme violence on occasion. The number of shootings in and around bars has increased significantly since the introduction of later bar hours,” reported Const. Pam Ruschke, VPD liquor coordinator, in recommendations attached to the policy review.
She noted that the problems of violence at bars have been exacerbated by bar owners continually exceeding their occupancy levels, failing to control line-ups and overserving patrons, who become aggressive out on the street. Police support a return to 2 a.m. bar closings, she wrote.
According to police, late night fights and other disturbances in the downtown area are up substantially from 2002 levels.
“The issues in this area are not all attributable to bar closing times. It is my opinion that there are now too many liquor seats in too small an area and we have reached a tipping point where public safety is going to remain an issue,” Deputy Chief Bob Rich wrote in his recommendations attached to the review. “I believe that the later bar closing hours in this area, even though it is now just 3 a.m., contribute to this trend.”
Despite staff concerns, Coun. Tim Stevenson believes the extended hours have been a success.
“I think the system is working well. Obviously there have been some concerns and the public needs to be consulted,” Stevenson said.
