Weston Bans Nightclubs, Dance Halls, and Skating Rinks

The reason? Crowds and crimes: city manager

In an effort to prevent crime and control large crowds, the City of Weston is banning nightclubs and dance halls.

City commissioners have even expanded the ban to skating rinks, just in case a temporary rink was to be used as a club or dance hall, City Manager John Flint told the Sun Sentinel.

Weston Mayor Eric Hersh said the ban wasn’t an issue, because the suburban community’s leaders never wanted them in the first place.

"There aren't those uses in Weston, there won't be those uses in Weston, and we were never planning to allow those uses in Weston," he told the Sentinel. “This is something that we thought would protect the city."

According to the new ordinance, these specific businesses attract crowds that could problems for nearby residents and businesses, like traffic and noise, and could strain the city of its resources.

Flint told the Sentinel that unlawful acts committed at nightclubs, the use of drugs and alcohol for example, made in nearby cities made Weston want to create this new ordinance.

Last year, there were nine cases of gunfire around nightclubs in South Florida, and in the last 10 years, 20 young people died in shootings. Four people in Broward County have been killed in nightclub stabbings.

Hersh said that this information is the reason why Weston was led to change their code.

"We just thought this was the best thing for our city,” Hersh told the Sentinel.

However, the city will still allow school dances, and gatherings at the YMCA for activities, including the skate park, City Commissioner Jim Norton said.

Weston residents will have to go to neighboring cities’ hot-spots, like Pembroke Pines’ Café Iguana, and Davie’s Roundup if they want to go out.

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