WELLINGTON, Fla. — A local municipality with no nightclubs is cracking down on them.
In Wellington, village councilors passed the first round of voting to set the standard that a nightclub would have to meet for security.
The Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office requested the village approve the same standard as it is elsewhere in the county.
Right now, in Wellington there are 17 places that serve alcohol, Village Manager Paul Schofield says. He says they all got letters putting them on notice, in case they one day to turn into a nightclub.
But as they all operate now, none actually qualify.
So, what is a nightclub? The village says if an establishment charges a cover, serves alcohol, has over 150 people, hosts entertainment and doesn’t serve food, then it likely qualifies.
If one does, then it would be required to have security.
They’re not discouraging a nightclub from opening here, just setting rules up just in case, Schofield says.
“We don’t have one of those now, if we have one in the future than the ordinance is in place. We’re just trying to have consistency, and everybody knows what we’re doing. Wellington is really interesting family community. Getting our folks to stay out past 2am is pretty tough,” Schofield says.
It will have to pass a second round of voting before it is official.
