ENCINITAS — The city is considering implementing citywide business hours that would limit early-morning operations without special exemptions, but the City Council did not seek input from its newly-created Business Commission, a panel of local merchants created to advise the city on business-related issues.
Deputy Mayor Jim O’Hara introduced the item at a Jan. 21 council meeting, arguing that limiting business activity between 2 a.m. and 5 a.m. would provide safety and community benefits.
O’Hara told The Coast News that a violent robbery at the downtown 7-Eleven prompted him to consider ways the city could help prevent similar incidents for workers, business owners and residents. O’Hara said he consulted with the San Diego County Sheriff’s Office, local business owners and Main Street organizations, while also reviewing approaches taken by other cities.
“I also discovered — talking to residents — that by creating business hours, we’re actually giving the residents their neighborhood back,” O’Hara said during the meeting. “We’re giving them two and a half, three hours where there’s nothing going on downtown. They can leave their windows open at night.”
Earlier in the meeting, the City Council formally established a seven- to nine-member Business Commission, with up to three alternates, to provide structured input on business-related issues from elected officials and local shop owners. The commission was created unanimously last month as part of the consent calendar.
Councilmember Joy Lyndes said the issue of business hours would be a strong early topic for the commission once it is formed.
“That’s what they’re there for. They will be there to be the conduit between the businesses and the city council,” Lyndes said. “So I think this would be a really wonderful opportunity for them to jump right in, and it also sheds some light on the fact that we really need them.”
O’Hara said he was concerned that sending the issue to a not yet formed commission would significantly delay its return to the council. In an effort to set the Business Commission up for success, O’Hara said he wanted it to become established before the council “puts a controversy before them.”
Following discussions with Habir Virk, owner of the downtown 7-Eleven, O’Hara said he independently sought input from the local Main Street associations before asking Virk to help gather letters of support for business hours.
Letters from the Encinitas Chamber of Commerce, Cardiff-by-the-Sea Town Council, Cardiff 101 Main Street Association and Encinitas 101 Main Street Association referenced Virk by name, according to city documents.Some council members questioned how widespread the issue was and whether limiting business hours was an appropriate response to a safety concern.
Mayor Bruce Ehlers said that based on his conversations with other 7-Eleven owners in Encinitas, the issue may be limited to certain franchise agreements.
“I think the answer is this is a 7-Eleven unique issue,” Ehlers said. “They’re asking to try and get out of having to be open in that nonprofitable time.”
Ehlers said his comments stemmed from conversations with the owners of the Village Park location, adding that early-morning hours can be financially challenging due to staffing and other costs.
Councilmember Luke Shaffer said the business-hours proposal “almost seems like throwing the baby out with the bathwater,” noting that outside of franchise requirements, “simply put, the businesses wouldn’t be open if it wasn’t profitable.”
“I don’t see this as a city issue, and I don’t think it’s the city’s job to carve out a public policy for one business owner,” Lyndes said.
Lyndes, Shaffer and Ehlers also discussed potential negative impacts on businesses that rely on overnight or early-morning customers. Ehlers cited businesses dependent on Interstate 5 traffic, including gas stations, as well as grocery stores serving residents who work nontraditional hours.
Ehlers submitted a motion, seconded by Shaffer, to refer the issue to the Business Commission for feedback, including a review of policies adopted by other cities.
O’Hara said the issue extended beyond a single franchise owner, noting that several California cities — including Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Jose — have adopted business-hour ordinances that allow 24-hour operations through specific permitting mechanisms.
“Someone’s already done it, let’s do what they do. Let’s bring safety to our people,” O’Hara said. “Let’s help our businesses, the ones that want to stay open and have nonconforming permits or existing permits — they can keep going, or they can transfer it.”
He offered a substitute motion directing city staff to study ordinances in other cities and collaborate with local stakeholders, including other 24-hour businesses, before returning with a draft ordinance for a future City Council hearing.
“I’m very big on not reinventing the wheel,” City Manager Jennifer Campbell said. “If the wheel is already out there, let me take a look, and we might have to make it a little bit of a different-sized wheel to fit Encinitas.”
O’Hara said speed was the primary reason for bypassing the newly created Business Commission, which could take six to nine months to fully assemble and convene.
Councilmember Marco San Antonio, who owns a business less than a block from the downtown 7-Eleven, agreed, saying “the fact that this commission is not even formed yet” could push a solution “even further down the road.” He supported using city staff to conduct the initial research to bring the issue back to the council more quickly.
“We have very intelligent staff here,” San Antonio said. “It can at least be looked at in other cities and at least something can be talked about sooner than later.”
O’Hara agreed, emphasizing the importance of establishing a policy before the busy summer season, when downtown activity peaks.
The substitute motion passed 4-1, with Lyndes voting no.
