ORLANDO, Fla. — Starting Monday, downtown bars looking to serve alcohol after midnight must have a permit to do so.
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However, the city said not everyone has a permit yet.
The city said 61 bars have applied and, as of Saturday morning, 28 permits have been issued.
In addition to the permit, some bars will be required to have law enforcement outside the building. If a bar has an occupancy of over 50 people, it has to use a metal detector wand.
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Between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m., all bars must use ID scanners and keep a log of occupancy numbers.
The city said it’s all in an effort to make downtown Orlando safer.
If the business doesn’t comply, they risk having their permit suspended, then not being able to sell alcohol after midnight.
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“Each application is unique, so the staff is working with those businesses to make sure all the information they submit is accurate and appropriate to be able to issue those permits but each situation is dependent on the information provided,” said David Barilla, acting executive director of the City of Orlando Downtown Development Board.
Bar owners said as of 5 p.m. today, the city was still approving some of their permits.
To obtain their permits, businesses need to submit things like their business tax receipts showing their location, their up-to-date occupancy numbers for their establishment and their liquor license.
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Bars owners said getting the permit approved was much more difficult than they initially anticipated, and the city wanted more information than they were told they would need.
For those applications not approved yet as of Monday, Barilla said Code Enforcement and Orlando police would get involved.
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