Columbia holds off on curfew but aims to shut down house parties as students return
The Columbia City Council has decided not to reinstate its curfew aimed at curbing the spread of coronavirus — but it is introducing an ordinance to crack down on large house parties and private gatherings as thousands of students return to the Midlands during the coronavirus pandemic.
Mayor Steve Benjamin and the council discussed bringing back the curfew, which was enacted March 17 and lasted into June, during a Tuesday meeting but decided instead to formally request that S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster extend his executive order prohibiting bars and restaurants from selling alcohol after 11 p.m.
Should McMaster’s “last call” executive order expire, the council will “reserve the authority ... to reimpose” a curfew, Benjamin said.
For the time being, the council introduced and unanimously passed first reading on an amendment to the city’s zoning code to penalize landlords whose properties are cited for not obeying executive orders issued by the governor or any law aimed at addressing a public health concern. A second reading and final approval could come as soon as next week.
The aim of the new ordinance is to discourage students from hosting large gatherings and parties in defiance of the governor’s emergency order, Benjamin said during the council’s discussion.
“It appears that the vast majority of the challenges that colleges are facing as students return back for the fall are usually because of events that happen off campus, not necessarily on campus,” Benjamin said. “So we’re trying to do as much as can, to work together with the university, with the students, with the neighborhoods, and with landlords, to require an end to these house parties that have led to a proliferation of cases.”
Violations of the ordinance will accumulate 10 “points,” a serious violation under the city’s zoning laws that comes with a $1,000 fine. Benjamin said he anticipated property owners passing on that fine to tenants. If a property owner accumulates 15 total points, their rental permit may be revoked.
During the period of Tuesday’s meeting devoted the public impact, local property owner Scott Linaberry, who said he owns about 14 duplexes he rents out mainly to college students, said the proposed ordinance unfairly targets rental properties.
“Not only will it affect college kids, but it will affect any house that the tenants do not own, basically because this is the only way you can enforce anything, is to ding a landlord who you are already expecting to act like a parent to their tenants,” Linaberry argued.
“The selective enforcement of this ordinance, where as the primary resident, I can have as big a party as I want at my house, no masks, no nothing, and there’s no problem there. But as far as a rental house goes, then all of a sudden, there’s your problem, and not only is it a problem, but then I have the problem because of the action of my tenants.”
In addition to the rental ordinance proposed Tuesday, Benjamin said the council would work with local universities to spread awareness of the city’s mask ordinance, and it would also request student housing and apartment complexes to keep communal swimming pools closed as long as the city’s public pools remain unopened “so we can all be on the same schedule.”
“This goes to an equitable enforcement across the city. ... The ideas and discussions that we’ve had today through everything from curfew to swimming pools has to do with us trying to get as close as we can back to normalcy,” Councilman Daniel Rickenmann said. “Which means if we’re all working together, taking our masks, social distancing and still living, going out and eating, but doing the right thing, we can get through it.”
The council’s consideration of reinstating the curfew reflected concerns as the University of South Carolina prepared for move-in weekend. Thousands of students returned to Columbia over the past several weeks, sparking some fear that they will engage in unsafe behaviors that could help spread the virus.
A curfew would have had the most impact on nightlife districts like Five Points, a favorite gathering point for USC students, that’s filled with bars and restaurants. On weekends before the pandemic, students often stay in Five Points deep into the night and on until morning.
When Five Points’ bars and restaurants started reopening around the end of May as Gov. Henry McMaster began lifting COVID-19 restrictions, they were quickly filled with large crowds that McMaster and Dr. Linda Bell, the state’s epidemiologist, deemed concerning. One establishment closed early to combat the crowd.
Since then, several restaurants have had to re-close due to coronavirus cases among staff, per WIS-TV.
Benjamin previously said he has been in contact with University of South Carolina president Bob Caslen about students potentially spreading the virus.
In a virtual staff town hall recently, Caslen said that he is “optimistic” students’ behavior amid the pandemic won’t be as bad as some fear. But he also acknowledged that “students are students and they’re going to do what they’re going to do” and said USC is prepared to help the city enforce any ordinance it passes in Five Points.
This story was originally published August 18, 2020 at 5:33 PM.
