Nightlife premises in West Seattle and throughout the city would be required to abide by specific security, litter and noise regulations if the Seattle City Council approves legislation proposed by Mayor Greg Nickels last month.

Nickels says the new rules aim to improve communication and resolve disputes between booming nighttime businesses in the heart of dense neighborhoods. The proposal would also give the city more power to control establishments that become neighborhood nuisances.

Earlier drafts of the legislation targeted businesses with live music or disc jockeys. The final proposal was expanded to include bars and other venues that meet specific crowd capacity standards. Business that serve liquor between the hours of 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. and has a space totaling 500 or more square feet would have to obtain a nightlife license.

Licensees would be required to comply with several operating rules, such as controlling noise levels, litter clean up and provide security patrol around the premises for at least 30 minutes after closing time. Nightspots would have to return compliant calls within 24 hours.

Business owners must also "take all reasonable measures" to prevent violent criminal activity, amended from an earlier proposal that held owners responsible for preventing patrons from bringing in weapons or drugs.

Tim Hatley, a lobbyist for the Seattle Nightlife and Music Association that formed in the last several months to protect the rights of bar and club owners, said the proposal has lessened the power the city holds over nightclubs but is still too far reaching.

"We're taking a hard detailed look at (the proposal)," said Hatley. "There's still some room for improvement, but the sanctions are still extremely harsh."

Several "high-profile incidents" that raised concerns about public safety around some popular nightspots sparked the effort, said Marty McOmber, Nickel's aide. The proposal is based on similar ordinances in other cites and was drawn up by a task force appointed by the mayor comprised of club owners and neighborhood representatives.

Previous drafts allowed city's director of executive administration to impose additional requirements beyond the operating standards. That language has been removed, but the mayor has broadened who will be impacted, said Hatley.

"That means a lot of neighborhood taverns will be affected," he said. "It's putting the whole industry on an increased level of scrutiny because of a few problem places."

Hatley estimated that the new law would impact 300 to 500 businesses in Seattle.

The city says it will be primarily bars and clubs that are impacted while most restaurants would not be considered nightspots.

But Joleen Hughes, owner of the Celtic Swell on Alki Avenue Southwest, said her restaurant would be considered a nightspot because of its size and operating hours.

"Having requirements is not necessarily bad but to have it codified to this really broad reaching (proposal) is not addressing the real problem places," said Hughes.

Noise coming from clubs and restaurants has become an increasing problem ever since Washington voters approved a proposal to ban smoking inside public places last year, said Dan Beeman, owner of the Rocksport Bar and Grill.

That has made it tougher for business owners to comply with strict noise regulations when people "take the party outside" to smoke, he said.

That rule, which forbids lighting up within 25 feet of doors, windows and vents, is controversial for many of the same reasons the mayor's new proposal is - it seems impossible to enforce.

"I don't see how they could enforce this proposal," said Hughes, a member of the Seattle Nightlife and Music Association. "We really believe that the city council should not pass this. It needs a dramatic amount of work."

Nightspots would be required to apply for and pay an annual fee of $300 for a nightlife license and possibly dole out additional money to soundproof or provide security. It's a financial impact that most small businesses would not be able to handle, said Hughes.

"The intentions are really good but the practical realities of how it's written is pretty chilling for all restaurants in West Seattle," said Hughes. "It could kill our nightlife."

The proposal has left a lot of unanswered questions and some business owners are very concerned about the potential costs, said Hatley.

"There's that certain level of uncertainty - that 'Do I?' that's causing some heartburn," he said. "We haven't had a chance to sit down with the city and look at all the details, but we think there are ways to achieve the objective's that everyone's trying to seek."

The city council won't begin its review of the proposal until next year. In the meantime, council president Nick Licata said the impact to small business owners is something that will be closely examined.

The proposal also suggests that new licenses would replace Nickels' controversial good neighbor agreements. Those types of legally binding contracts have required businesses to agree to numerous conditions, such as monitoring noise and restricting certain types of music.

Instead, a seven-member advisory board appointed by the mayor would work with clubs, neighbors and the city on club issues. Three members would represent nightspots.

James Keblas, director of the mayor's office of film and music, said the advisory board would be key in helping businesses succeed and resolving neighborhood concerns.

"I am very pleased the mayor is proposing proper staffing to tackle this issue," said Keblas. "It will be a rough transition once it gets started, but if we (the city staff) work hard, I am confident this new regulation can succeed for everyone."

The nightclub industry has faced a barrage of challenges lately. Last year a state law passed requiring all nightclubs to have a sprinkler system. However, the costs to install these systems range from $25,000 to $100,000.

The city has also been evaluating restaurants like the Celtic Swell based on community complaints to determine whether it should have to obtain a permit to operate as a drinking establishment if it morphs into one at night. That permit would require many of the same regulations as good neighbor agreements and the mayor's new proposal.

"Whatever growing pains the city is going through I hope they think through how this will effect our community," Hughes said. "A mechanism should be in place because of density growth, but trying to put the entire onus on the business owners isn't fair."

Rebekah Schilperoort can be reached at rebekahs@ballardnewstribune.com or 783-1244.