Davis Weighs Extending Bar, Nightclub Ban Enacted After Deadly Stabbing

DAVIS (CBS13) — A property owner is asking the city of Davis to lift a 45-day moratorium on new bars and nightclubs passed in the wake of a deadly stabbing.

Peter Gonzales, 22, was stabbed during a fight at KetMoRee in September. The deadly incident prompted the city council to pass an emergency measure limiting nightclubs at an early-morning meeting last month.

Some residents are still shaken by the violence.

"I'm really not happy with what's happening downtown at night," said Pat Goldstein. "Well tragically a young man was murdered."

The moratorium on any business wanting to sell alcohol could be extended up to two years.

"We would be telling them, we can't move forward with your application until we have this broader community conversation," said Mayor Pro Tempore Robb Davis.

The property owner of a vacant building just one block from where the stabbing occurred reportedly wants to open a new pizza joint and bar. He apparently bought the property before the stabbing.

Residents believe lifting the moratorium is going to be a tough sell to city leaders.

"I think there's plenty of places here and actually would like to have a few of them closed," Goldsteins said.

Nearby, Sacramento city leaders aren't planning on a moratorium or restrictions following the stabbing of Spencer Stone, a man who helped stop a terrorist attack on a Paris-bound train in August.