Late Night Business Safety Plan
Montgomery County is the most populous county in the state of Maryland.
It is home to the Washington, DC suburbs of Rockville, Silver Spring and Bethesda.
It is also where the county government is considering a bill that would require late-night businesses to assume greater responsibility in public safety.
WTOP 103.5 FM reports that Jane Redicker, the president of the Greater Silver Spring Chamber of Commerce, is in support of this Late Night Business Safety Plan. “In Redicker’s view, the bill helps make sure that businesses in areas that generate a high number of police calls ‘do their part to assure safety for the whole community.'”
But not all agree.
The all-news radio station goes on to quote Jackie Greenbaum, who owns Quarry House Tavern, also in Silver Spring. Her primary reason for opposing the Late Night Business Safety Plan? “It shifts the responsibility away from the government to private businesses where it doesn’t belong.”
Interesting.
Bill 14-23 [links to a PDF] would:
- require that certain businesses obtain an approved late night business safety plan before operating in certain areas of the County.
- authorize the Department of Police to review and approve a proposed late night business safety plan.
- authorize the Department of Police to establish the requirements of a late-night business plan.
Generally, amend the law regarding public safety and the operation of late night businesses in the County.
Bill 14-23 had a public hearing on Mar. 14, 2023. A work session on the bill is scheduled for March 27.