Council passes emergency curfew law to combat teen-group disturbances

Council Member and chair of the Public Safety and Health Committee Kenneth Montlack reads the resolution to establish the new curfew. Photo by Lewis Pollis.
View Image Gallery

A new ordinance passed June 29 at a special meeting of Cleveland Heights City Council prohibits minors from being on public grounds in the Coventry Village and Cedar-Lee business districts after 6 p.m. and institutes fines for parents of children who are found to be out after curfew, effective immediately.

The legislation was drafted in response to “an accelerating problem of unsupervised youth” over the last few months. While the issue was highlighted by an incident of overcrowding and confusion that resulted in 16 arrests at the Coventry Street Fair on June 26, council members and citizens emphasized that the issue of flash mobs disrupting the business districts is a recurring one. That's why the new law establishes “on an emergency basis a curfew for unsupervised persons under 18 years of age within the Coventry Village and Cedar-Lee commercial areas between the hours of 6 p.m. and 6 a.m.”

The Coventry Village Business District is defined as the area from the gas stations on the corner of Coventry and Mayfield roads to the Coventry Village Library and former Coventry Elementary School. The Cedar-Lee Business District extends from the intersection of Lee and Superior roads to the Lee Road Library.

Parents or legal guardians of children who are detained for being out after curfew will be fined $50.

“Cleveland Heights will not tolerate disrespectful, disorderly and thuggish behavior,” said Ken Montlack, council member and chair of the public safety and health committee, after introducing the resolution, which passed with a unanimous 7-0 vote. “Your safety and security are our highest concerns.”

Coventry Village “simply cannot handle” the types of crowds that social media-inspired flash mobs have attracted recently, Mayor Edward Kelley said. He also passionately reminded those in attendance that most of the troublemakers from the street fair “were not our Cleveland Heights youth” and stated that his goal is to “make Cleveland Heights the safest city in Cuyahoga County.”

The measure is “dramatic,” Council Member Phyllis Evans said, but it is “absolutely necessary.”

Cleveland Heights Law Director John Gibbon called the city’s current circumstances “an extraordinary situation.” He said that Police Chief Jeffrey Robertson had told council the legal tools available to the police force were not enough to deal with the problems.

The new curfew is not unique, Gibbon said. The city modeled the ordinance after similar laws enacted by other municipalities nationwide—and particularly Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio.

The resolution calls for the ordinance to be reevaluated within 30 days, but Gibbon said it will be amended “on an ongoing basis” and council could reconsider it as soon as the next regularly scheduled meeting on July 5.

Gibbon also noted exceptions to the curfew: Underage children are exempt when “on an errand or legitimate business” under adult direction or when necessary for employment. Additional exceptions will be considered as needed.

At the regular city council meeting on June 27, Youth of Coventry—a new group of local teenagers and young adults—presented council with their own proposal to amend city curfew laws. At the special meeting, John Nelson, a leader of that group, pledged “full support of the new ordinance.”

John Waltrip, another Youth of Coventry leader, said the new ordinance was better than what his group had proposed because it is stricter and because it makes parents accountable for their kids’ behavior.

Not all reactions to the ordinance were positive. The new curfew is unfair to teenagers who are “using these businesses appropriately,” said Linn Grossman. “We need to respect their rights as young people.”

Nancy Levin, director of the Heights Libraries, strongly opposed the new curfew. In addition to ruining evening activities that the library had planned for teenagers, she said the ordinance goes against the library’s philosophy of protecting civil liberties.

Kathy Blackman, owner of the Grog Shop in Coventry Village, said the ordinance would “completely destroy a portion of my business.” The venue has already booked several artists for evening concerts aimed at teenagers, who will now be unable to attend. “Something has to be done,” Blackman said, but this particular ordinance “does more harm than good.”

All seven council members expressed appreciation to citizens who had attended the meeting or contacted them in other ways to offer their thoughts about the curfew and the city’s handling of public safety. Specifically, some council members thanked the Youth of Coventry for their involvement, including Kelley, who asked the ten group members present at the meeting to stand and be recognized.

“We didn’t get it perfect this first time,” Council Member Cheryl Stephens said. The ordinance is “a starting point,” Montlack said, and it will be modified based on the community’s needs.