ORLANDO, Fla. — Orlando City Commissioners voted Monday afternoon to extend a moratorium prohibiting the opening of any new nightclubs downtown.
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The city hasn’t approved a new nightclub since March. Monday’s vote keeps the moratorium in place through March of 2024.
City officials weren’t able to provide the exact number of nightclubs currently operating in downtown Orlando, but said a total of 68 businesses have a special after-midnight permit.
That number includes bars, nightclubs and some restaurants.
Moving forward, Orlando city leaders say they want to pay closer attention to the kinds of businesses that open up shop downtown.
The moratorium was implemented after a shooting in downtown Orlando last year caused chaos and sent seven people to the hospital.
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In the days after the shooting, city leaders called for a pause on new nightclubs while they studied how late-night businesses could be better regulated.
“We would like to see more diversity in our downtown area,” Mayor Buddy Dyer said after Monday’s meeting. “We probably have the highest concentration of nightclubs and bars than any city in Florida.”
The moratorium extended Monday allows the city more time to figure out just how to incentivize new kinds of businesses to come to the area.
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Mayor Dyer says too many nightclubs can have negative secondary effects. Aside from safety concerns, the imbalance leaves streets empty during the day.
“We just need to start thinking about how we encourage more restaurants and other kinds of retail to come downtown,” Dyer added.
The moratorium will be in place through March of 2024. It includes an exception for two nightclubs that were already in the process of being developed.
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