Downey Mayor Calls for Late-Night Rules for Downtown Bars

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DOWNEY CITY COUNCIL: Mayor Claudia Frometa, center, discusses downtown public safety during Tuesday’s City Council meeting. Frometa asked the council to begin developing rules aimed at late-night establishments with recurring problems involving intoxicated patrons, fights, noise and other disturbances.

Proposed ordinance would use police calls and documented incidents to target establishments with recurring problems rather than impose a blanket crackdown.

September 23. 2026

By Vincent Medina

Mayor Claudia Frometa asked the Downey City Council on Tuesday to begin work on a late-night public safety and nuisance ordinance for downtown, saying fights, intoxicated patrons and overtime police patrols have crossed the line from nightlife into a neighborhood problem.

Mayor Pro Tem Horacio Ortiz said the city’s downtown subcommittee meets with local business owners next week and should put the proposal before them.

Frometa said social media and activity on downtown streets have shown intoxicated patrons, fights, disorderly conduct and late-night noise. She said the city is already paying officers overtime to patrol the area and that the council added cameras and extra patrols after an incident at a downtown bar about three years ago.

“This is not about being anti business, it is not about being anti nightlife, and it is certainly not about punishing responsible bar and restaurant owners who are doing the right thing,” Frometa said.

She said downtown should remain a place to eat, hear music and support local businesses. The line, she said, is crossed when problems spill outside.

“When the party leaves the establishment and becomes a public safety problem for our residents, for our businesses, for our police officers in our community, that is where this city has a responsibility to act,” Frometa said.

Frometa said Downey already has regulatory tools but needs a separate, stepped system for late-night establishments with documented recurring problems.

She said the city could use police calls for service, documented incidents and code-enforcement activity to identify problem locations, then require corrective measures before imposing penalties.

Those measures could include additional security, crowd control outside establishments, lighting, cameras, responsible alcohol service and plans for how patrons leave at closing time.

“I don’t want to see what we are seeing when intoxicated individuals leave the establishment,” Frometa said. “I believe responsible business owners should be our partners in this effort.”

If problems continued, she said, the ordinance should establish a process involving the Police Department, code enforcement, the city attorney and, when necessary, the state Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control.

“We can protect our residents without hurting responsible businesses, and we can support nightlife without sacrificing public safety,” she said. “We want a downtown that is alive but not lawless.”

Frometa contrasted those problems with the I Love Downey Festival, held in recognition of the city’s 70th year of incorporation. Staff later estimated about 2,000 people came through downtown during the day.

That, Frometa said, is the downtown the city should continue building: “vibrant, welcoming, family friendly and above all, safe.”

When she formally asked colleagues to move the ordinance forward later in the meeting, Frometa again emphasized that she was not seeking a blanket crackdown.

“The intent would not be to punish every bar or late night establishment,” Frometa said. “We need to create a fair, objective and gradual system that distinguishes responsible businesses from establishments with documented recurring public safety problems.”

Ortiz tied the proposal to work already scheduled by the city.

“I know that our downtown subcommittee is going to meet with local business owners,” Ortiz said. “Maybe this is something they can discuss in that meeting so that they’re aware of what’s happening too.”

Frometa said the meeting is next week.

“It is important for us to address those issues,” Frometa said. “And again, it’s not about being punitive, but we need to have some guardrails in place. And we are spending a great deal of money and overtime.”

Councilmember Dorothy Pemberton said business owners need to be part of the discussion and warned that waiting could make the problem more difficult to address.

“We need to have all stakeholders present, but we need to work with them so that we can curtail what’s happening right now, because if we don’t, then it may be getting even further out of control,” Pemberton said. “I’m not sure what those remedies would be, but that’s just to open the discussion.”

Frometa said she also wanted residents to know the council is aware of the complaints and is discussing ways to respond.

Exploring an ordinance, she said, would give the city a series of steps for addressing recurring problems rather than using “a blanketed punitive approach.”

The council did not adopt new regulations Tuesday. Frometa asked that work begin on the ordinance, while Ortiz proposed first bringing the concept to downtown business owners at the subcommittee meeting next week. Frometa agreed.