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Daytona Beach considers cracking down on hookah bars

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — More changes could be coming to the entertainment district in Daytona Beach.

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Neighbors have complained about issues with people being drunk, fights breaking out and vandalism.

In June, the city put in an ordinance to force bars to close an hour earlier. However, the city said closing the bars at 2 a.m. has not cleared out the area like it hoped and people end up instead at the hookah bars, which are open until 3 a.m.

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However, hookah pub owners said they are not the problem.

Now, the city is considering reclassifying the hookah lounges so they would close at the same time as bars.

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The city is also considering ending parallel parking around 10 p.m. except for taxis, Ubers and Lyfts.

One hookah bar owner pushed back, telling Channel 9 they are not having the same issues with fights and crowd control like the bars and feel being forced to close an hour earlier would only hurt their business.

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Adam Poulisse, WFTV.com

Adam Poulisse joined WFTV in November 2019.