The Orlando City council voted yes on a first read to extend a moratorium on new nightclubs opening in the downtown core that was rolled out in March 2023, and will revisit the vote one more time this fall.
The ordinance was put into place to buy City Hall time to research and refine recommended code amendments to how nightclubs and bars operate in downtown Orlando and further regulations on alcoholic beverage sales. The City is actively looking to identify and encourage more daytime uses and programming in its downtown core to transition from an “entertainment destination into a true neighborhood.”
The process was put on hold by the implementation of Senate Bill 250 which passed during the 2023 legislative session, preventing certain cities, including Orlando, from making changes to land development codes, for a period of six months – which has since passed.
“That time has passed and we are working diligently to prepare and finalize recommendations to better support nightclubs and to better manage development and zoning implications related to them. We expect those recommendations to come before the City Council prior to the expiration of this extension on September 20, 2024.“
– CASSANDRA BELL, PRESS SECRETARY, OFFICE OF THE MAYOR, CITY OF ORLANDO
