Tuscaloosa Leaders Tweak Proposed Queuing Ordinance, Consider Trial Run

TUSCALOOSA, AL — Members of the Tuscaloosa City Council's Administration Committee on Tuesday deliberated a slate of changes to the city's proposed queuing permit ordinance, which is aimed at combatting long lines developing outside of downtown bars and impacting public safety during high-traffic events.

Click here to subscribe to our free daily newsletter and breaking news alerts.

After receiving feedback from downtown bar owners, several changes to the proposed permitting process were taken up, including the following:

• The proposed ordinance, as it is drafted, currently puts the ordinance in place for bars from 10 p.m. until 6 a.m. The change proposed on Tuesday, and agreed upon by members of the Administration Committee, would see the ordinance go into place at 11 p.m.
• Language specifying the designee from the Tuscaloosa Police Department who will be responsible for enforcing the measure.
• Removing the fees for applications and renewal of the queuing permit if the city experiments with a trial-run.
• Clarifying language that business owners are not responsible for the right of way outside of their queuing zone.

As Patch previously reported in April following the A-Day Game weekend, the Tuscaloosa Police Department requested a queuing process for certain downtown bars after large crowds on the sidewalks of The Strip became unruly, spilled over into traffic and saw numerous arrests made for illegal guns and drugs.

"My perspective is we’re placing a disproportionate share of TPD assets into two city blocks that could be better utilized in many other areas of our city that need additional law enforcement," Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox said during the committee meeting. "I am very concerned and this is something we’ll have to continue looking at as a city. We have a combustable situation down there on The Strip. I am very worried that's a powder keg waiting to explode."

Indeed, Maddox pointed out that as of Tuesday, TPD was down 25 officers, despite the city offering one of the highest pay plans in the state of Alabama. It's a nationwide problem, but one that comes as Tuscaloosa faces a rise in gun violence that is impossible to ignore.

"Law enforcement is facing a shortage," he said. "We are running out of assets and we’re pushing our people 14-16 hours a day. We can't sustain the amount of law enforcement in that area when we have needs throughout the city, as well."

However, perhaps the most important takeaway for some city leaders and bar owners, alike, came when the city's legal team explained that the queuing permit will not be required for any establishment unless the business is using the city right of way for its line to get inside.

Rather, as City Attorney Scott Holmes pointed out, the TPD officials tasked with overseeing the high-traffic areas in question — likely the police chief or assistant chief — will use their discretion when it comes to enforcing the ordinance for violators. It's also worth noting that the city's legal team said it has identified only a handful of businesses they believe would need to apply for a queuing permit on the first day if it was required.

District 6 City Councilor John Faile, a retired Tuscaloosa Police officer who chairs the Administration Committee, was the most vocal in support of expediency in implementing the measures ahead of the 2022 college football season in the coming weeks.

"We’ve worked on this and we’ve worked on this," he said after slapping the conference table in frustration. "But I don’t want to be arguing this into the third [Alabama football home game] and I mean this with all due respect to everybody."

Despite Faile's support for the measure, more questions persisted than agreement on moving forward with the way the proposed ordinance is written.

Busby, for example, advocated for the trial period so the city could get a better understanding of the impacts during football season, while District 1's Matthew Wilson — who shares much part of the downtown district with Busby — was joined by District 7's Cassius Lanier in raising questions regarding insurance prices going up and enforcement.

"I’m just trying to get the scope of the matter," Lanier said. "I'm not against queuing."

The City Council's Administration Committee gave the go-ahead to the city's legal team to make the changes to the proposed ordinance, which will now be taken up by the Council's Projects Committee during its next meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 8.

Have a news tip or suggestion on how I can improve Tuscaloosa Patch? Maybe you're interested in having your business become one of the latest sponsors for Tuscaloosa Patch? Email all inquiries to me at ryan.phillips@patch.com.