SeattleNMA briefed the City Council’s Economic Development and Neighborhoods Committee last Thursday on our position regarding the Mayor’s proposal and provided alternative approaches to deal with public safety, noise and litter issues. Our message is the city should do a better job of enforcing existing laws, and provide additional police officers in the entertainment districts on weekend nights. Our full presentation can be viewed here at http://seattlenma.org/downloads/SNMA_powerpoint.
The non dogma version is this: basically this proposal is a ludicrous attempt to appease the only set of home voters who vote (homeowners) and will pass because my people don’t. Step it up my people, if this passes (and some version will because nobody on the council will ever get another vote from a homeowner if it doesn’t) you will end up with bars that can be closed by the city council for littering, the city council can veto the promotion of hip hop shows (specifically), requires bartenders and owners to do the job of police, and doesn’t increase funding for anything involving liquor control or law enforcement. The SPD and the liquor control board are against this because it adds more laws to their job they already publicly say they can’t enforce. And while it hurts existing business in more ways than I can list, it does nothing to prevent (zoning restrictions) new bars and restaurants opening where ever they damn well please. They Mayor is doing a big dance and waving his hands to try to show you that he is working, whereas in reality, he is a big fat tool.
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