City bolsters case for late-night alcohol permit fees
The city of Orlando and Police Chief Eric Smith have strengthened their position that the city’s after-midnight alcohol sales permit ordinance is constitutional.
Since the city council approved the ordinance March 20, 2023, certain businesses in the downtown entertainment area have been required to pay for police patrols between 10:30 p.m. and 3:30 a.m. on weekends if they wish to serve alcohol after midnight.
In a court filing submitted May 2 in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, the defendants cited two decades-old cases — Green Cedar LLC v. Clay County and City of Pompano Beach v. Big Daddy’s Inc. — to support their argument that the ordinance meets legal standards for regulating alcohol sales in the interest of public safety.
