Council to Reevaluate Bars and Taverns

A series of complaints about drinking establishments has prompted the Camarillo City Council to reevaluate the city’s bars and taverns.

The council unanimously voted Wednesday to require all bars and taverns to obtain a conditional-use permit within five years.

Drinking establishments were previously allowed to operate without a formal process for review by the City Council. A conditional-use permit would allow the city to review each establishment at public hearings to determine whether issues such as hours of operation, noise or parking are adversely affecting neighboring businesses.

The council has received complaints from retail businesses near bars about noise and inappropriate behavior of bar patrons, such as public urination.

All other cities in the county, with the exception of Ojai, already require a conditional-use permit for drinking establishments.

“There is apparently a segment of the community that is not policing itself,” Mayor Stanley Daily said. “When this occurs you have to end up with someone else policing them.”