Tulsa City Council expands teen curfew for downtown to 9 p.m. Thursday, Friday & Saturday

The Tulsa City Council voted to expand a teen curfew for downtown, moving the effective time to 9 p.m. on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. It applies to teens 17 and under, and only downtown within the IDL.

The vote Wednesday was 7-1 in favor of the new curfew hours. Councilor Jackie Dutton voted against it, and Councilor Laura Bellis was absent.

Mayor Monroe Nichols has said he would sign the measure if Councilors approved it.

The Council approved the change within days of a homicide downtown at the Juneteenth Festival, but long after business owners began to complain about crime and safety concerns downtown.

In a lengthy discussion earlier Wednesday, the Council was divided on both the rushed process and the specifics of a proposal that would have made the curfew effective each day.

Tulsa Police Deputy Chief Mark Wollmershauser assured Councilors that officers would first try to encourage teens to leave and educate them about the ordinance, before resorting to issuing tickets. He said only 30 curfew citations had been issued in the preceding six months.

Councilor Anthony Archie said there should be a distinction between people who are in a bar when they shouldn't be, and innocent teens enjoying the area. "The message we need to send to these young people is that all of Tulsa is for everyone."

Councilor Vanessa Hall-Harper told her colleagues the City has to "get ahead of the problem, once it gets to 11 or 12 o'clock, it's out of control."

Councilors Phil Lakin and Karen Gilbert said the request from the police was urgent.

"We would not be asking our fellow councilors to do a first reading approval of this if we weren't in an emergency," said Lakin.

Gilbert said, "Right now we have an emergency downtown, when we have youth involved in activities they shouldn't be involved in."

Many downtown business owners, including Mike Bausch of Andolini's, supported the expanded curfew. Downtown businesses are experiencing a downward trend in traffic and sales, which the Downtown Tulsa Partnership attributes to patrons' concerns about safety. CEO Brian Kurtz said business owners are concerned about the safety of employees because large groups of teens are causing problems well after midnight, despite the previous curfew.

"This is not just solely to change behaviors or habits of people 17 and under. It's not just to save and protect bar goers late at night. It can be all of those things at once."

In a statement, Downtown Tulsa Partnership CEO Brian Kurtz said,

"On behalf of Downtown Tulsa Partnership’s board and staff, I express my gratitude to Tulsa City Council for passing the emergency curfew ordinance at this evening’s council meeting. This is an interim safety measure – not a cure-all solution. It is intended to protect everyone – youth and adults – and to lessen the chances of violent interactions and incidents.

“Assuring the safety of Downtown residents, workers and visitors requires many tools and actions, and this measure is one of many necessary strategies to improve conditions. That work will require continued collaboration among numerous individuals and groups, including government, business and philanthropy, and will include a combination of enforcement as well as non-enforcement strategies. That work has already begun.

“I appreciate the collaboration of Councilors Gilbert, Hall-Haper, Bellis, and Lakin, as well as Mayor Nichols and his office, and Tulsa Police Department throughout the ideation of this proposal, and to all members for the dialogue that occurred today. We are stronger when we work together.”

To learn more about downtown curfew ordinances, CLICK HERE.