NORFOLK, Va. - The city is cracking down on businesses – in an effort to curb crime.
In an upcoming city council meeting, they will have a hearing to amend sections of the Norfolk Zoning ordinance. That includes modifying the definition of restaurants and nightclubs and modifying the definition of DJs and entertainment.
The owner of Slowdive Art gallery, Charles Rasputin says this will have a significant impact.
"Right now, the attempts to try to make things safer by targeting nightlife, DJs, youth culture when they come together to dance is just going to create unsafe spaces where violence can happen much more easily," Rasputin said.
The owner believes it unfairly targets DJs.
"The real changes of broadening defining what entertainment are, those are the ones that I think are frightening," Rasputin said.
The city cracking down on businesses comes after there have been several shootings in the city in the last month.In a recent press conference, Dr. Chip Filer said that businesses would have to prove why they are allowed to continue operating afterfour people were shot outside of Legacy Restaurant and Lounge.
"I think Dr. Filer was trying to do a good thing to assuage people’s concerns," Rasputin said.
Rasputin says there are already laws in place to punish offenders.
"Creating a new layer of laws to look like you’re in power demonstrates to me like you know you’re not really in power," he said.
The Downtown Norfolk civic league agrees with the city to hold businesses accountable.
"The restaurants, nightclubs make certain promises to the city and residents to get a conditional use permit. Part of the agreement is they are going to comply with the terms of that. If they don’t, they are not good neighbors," Preston Carraway with the Downtown Norfolk Civic League said.
A few business owners in Downtown Norfolk say they plan to speak at next week’s city council meeting to address his concerns.
