Mayor Robert Smith plans to float the idea of “some type of moratorium” on The Princess Theater at this evening’s Columbus City Council meeting.
An early Sunday morning shooting outside The Princess, a nightclub located on Fifth Street South downtown, spurred Smith’s intended recommendation. Gunshots struck five vehicles parked downtown, two of which were occupied, just before 1:30 a.m. No one was injured, and police have yet to arrest a suspect.
The council meets at 5 p.m. at the Municipal Complex.
A moratorium is one of several options city officials are looking at in response to the shooting, as well as other police responses to locations near the nightclub. Smith, who has noted the club as a trouble spot, met with city officials and Princess owner Bart Lawrence Monday morning to discuss steps to make the downtown area — and particularly the parking lot and area around The Princess — safer.
“Right now our legal counsel is checking from a legal standpoint as to what we can do,” Smith said.
At Monday’s meeting, officials also discussed installing a surveillance camera in the parking lot and limiting parking at night, Smith said. CPD Chief Oscar Lewis, who also attended the meeting, promised to increase patrols in the downtown area near The Princess.
Lawrence said he intends to speak at today’s council meeting, but he would not comment to The Dispatch before then.
Trouble near The Princess
Sunday was not the first time shots were fired outside The Princess, which opened as a nightclub in 2008.
In February 2016, one man went to the hospital after 25-year-old Quinton Deangelo Harris allegedly shot him outside the nightclub during an argument. Harris was charged with aggravated assault and possession of a weapon by a convicted felon and is scheduled to go to trial in May.
Since that shooting, CPD has responded to about 22 incidents at the Princess or in the immediate block, Lewis told The Dispatch. The incidents range from noise complaints to aggravated assaults, though Lewis said they mostly involve minor disturbances.
“You have some shots fired there, but mostly you have some disturbances, loud noises, loud vehicles,” Lewis said.
Smith said CPD and his office have gotten calls and complaints from downtown residents and business owners about The Princess since even before the shooting last year. Their main concerns are violence, noise and disturbances.
“A lot of them have suggested closing it down,” Smith said.
Gavin questions legality of moratorium
The city already placed a six-month moratorium on the use of buildings at the Columbus Fairgrounds, which has also been the scene of two high-profile shootings within the last three years.
Ward 6 Councilman Bill Gavin said he agrees with Smith that business owners have to take some responsibility for criminal activity in their clubs and restaurants, but questioned the legality of holding The Princess accountable for something that happened outside the venue.
“It’s not that we’re not on the same page or anything,” Gavin said. “(Smith is looking) at whether or not that would be legal. But the shooting, as I understand it, took place outside the premise of the property of The Princess. In the incident at the Fairgrounds, it took place on the property of the Fairgrounds. So for me, there’s a distinction there.”
He suggested instead restricting the hours The Princess could sell alcohol, which he indicated the mayor is considering. Now, The Princess cuts off alcohol sales at 1:30 a.m., according to Lewis.
Other solutions
Julie Parker, a downtown resident and coordinator of the Southside Neighborhood Watch, also plans to speak at today’s city council meeting. She is one of the residents who has raised concerns to city officials about crowds and violence at The Princess in the past.
“As a concerned resident, I really need to know what the council’s action plan is going to be to address this,” she said.
She said she and other downtown residents understand that by living close to downtown, there will be crowds and foot traffic — they’re not worried about noise, she said. They’re worried about violence and particularly the possibility of violence getting close to their homes.
Ideally, she would like to see more of a partnership between Lawrence and city officials to handle security and limit the number of patrons at the club at one time. She also likes the idea of a nearby surveillance camera.
Barbara Bigelow, director of Main Street Columbus, also attended the Monday meeting with city officials on behalf of downtown merchants and business owners, who are concerned about violence and large crowds in The Princess area.
“If people are concerned about coming downtown and not shopping with them or eating in their establishments, that’s of great concern for (business owners),” Bigelow said.
She said she’s been hearing concerns from downtown merchants at least since the shooting last year.
“I know that particular incident … cut into people’s business because people were not comfortable to come downtown in the evenings and have dinner,” Bigelow said. “And that’s money you don’t recoup.”
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