On March 20, 2023, the City Council adopted a 6-month moratorium on the establishment of new nightclubs within downtown Orlando. The moratorium is intended to allow time for City Staff to research and provide recommendations on ways to appropriately regulate the uses. The moratorium was extended in August 2023 and again in April 2024 to allow City Staff additional time for research and public engagement.

This is a City Staff-initiated amendment to Land Development Code (LDC) Chapter 58, Zoning Districts and Uses, addressing the overconcentration of nightclubs in the Downtown Entertainment Area (DEA) by implementing a 300-foot distance separation between the uses.

Three hundred feet is the approximate size of an average block face in the DEA and would, therefore, potentially allow for one nightclub per block face. Other major cities in the state, including Tampa, Ft. Lauderdale, Miami, and West Palm Beach, also have distance separation requirements for businesses serving alcohol during the late-night hours in their central business districts, often more restrictive.
City Staff believes the 300-foot distance separation serves as a strategic urban planning measure to balance the vitality of nightlife with the well-being of residents, workers, and visitors and the sustainable growth of downtown at all hours of the day.

All legally existing nightclubs, as of the effective date of this amendment, will be able to remain as legal non-conforming uses, but they may not expand unless they meet the distance separation requirements. City staff will maintain an inventory of nightclubs existing as of the effective date of this ordinance and will update it as new nightclubs are approved and existing ones close, as appropriate.

With the addition of the new requirements, staff believes there is no longer a need for Late Night Uses to obtain a Special Use Permit as required by LDC Section 65.544 Late Night Uses in the Downtown Entertainment Area. Therefore, City Staff is proposing to delete this section of the code.

The Municipal Planning Board (MPB) recommended approval of this item at its June 2024 public hearing.

Approving Ordinance No. 2024-31 on first reading and authorizing the Mayor and City Clerk to present the draft ordinance at the next available City Council meeting for second reading, hearing, and adoption. City Staff further recommends that, pursuant to Florida Statutes Section 166.041(3)(c)2.a., Council, by majority plus one vote, elects to conduct the second reading and hearing at its regularly scheduled 2:00 p.m. meeting time.