Virginia Beach is considering a curfew that would prohibit everyone after 9 p.m., with a few exceptions, from being out at a portion of the Oceanfront on weekends through the end of April.
City Council will consider a curfew that would start at 9 p.m. on Friday and Saturday nights. As with a recent emergency curfew for minors, it would apply between Pacific Avenue and the Boardwalk from Rudee Loop to 31st Street.
A vote is scheduled during a special meeting set for 4 p.m., Thursday, at City Hall following public comment.
The additional curfew was discussed during a closed-door meeting Tuesday at City Hall after a shooting Saturday night on Atlantic Avenue. Eight people were wounded after an altercation between groups rapidly escalated, according to police.
Even though the police department had a heavy presence in the area that night, violence unfolded anyway, Police Chief Paul Neudigate said Monday.
Officials want to address crowd issues that tend to happen in the springtime before the main tourist season begins.
“I think it’s a viable option that we don’t like, but it’s a viable option that I think we should strongly consider,” Councilmember Worth Remick told WHRO about the proposed curfew.
Councilmember David Hutcheson said the city is in a tough spot.
“You don’t do this and we have another shooting, somebody gets hurt. … And on the other side of it is the economic driver of the Oceanfront, especially that piece of the Oceanfront,” he told WHRO on Tuesday.
The proposal would be on top of the weekend-only curfew starting at 7 p.m. for unaccompanied minors the city enacted last month following a shooting along Atlantic Avenue. That curfew also runs through April in that portion of the Oceanfront.
The latest proposed all-ages curfew would be on Friday and Saturday nights from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. As with the unaccompanied minors curfew, there would be exceptions for emergencies; traveling to and from work; attending specific events, such as religious services, assemblies or activities protected by the First Amendment.
In February, City Council also moved up the start of the citywide curfew for unaccompanied minors by an hour to 10 p.m. in response to safety concerns about large crowds that mix young adults and juveniles and sometimes arise unexpectedly.
The city had supported statewide legislation that could have granted municipalities additional powers to deal with “pop-up” unpermitted events that often are driven by social media. The measure was carried over to next year.
During Tuesday’s meeting at City Hall, Mayor Bobby Dyer said the city will work with neighboring communities to address concerns about violence and establish a city task force to deal with issues here.
The composition of the task force will be discussed later but would include people from the community, he said.
“I think it’s important for everyone to understand that this is a community issue,” Councilmember Cash Jackson-Green said during the meeting. “This isn’t just a police issue. We need mentors in the community, the faith community, the leaders in the community. We need support.”
Dyer said he will reach out to Gov. Abigail Spanberger to see if there is a way to expedite “pop-up” event legislation.
“I don’t think we have the luxury of waiting a year,” he said. “We need some immediate action on what we can do.”
