Jeanerette City Council may consider an earlier curfew due to noise complaints

IBERIA PARISH (JEANERETTE) – Although Jeanerette Councilman Garland “Butch” Bourgeois was absent during Monday night’s meeting, KATC was able to speak with him regarding a controversial ordinance that appeared on the original agenda.

According to Bourgeois, police are being “bombarded” with calls regarding loud music and street activity late at night, especially from Thursday to Saturday. Bourgeois said these complaints led to discussions about changing the city’s curfew from 2 a.m. to midnight.

Local business owners are voicing concerns about the potential impact on their establishments. Byron Boles, manager of ‘The Den,’ a newly opened R&B club on Main Street, said an earlier curfew would significantly hurt his business. “Our clientele generally doesn’t arrive until 10:30 or 11 p.m. If they close at midnight, it will kill me,” he said.

Subriena Hopes, owner of Ballers Sports Bar, is also opposed to the move and urges the council to engage with local businesses:

“As the owner of Ballers Sports Bar in Jeanerette, I am compelled to express my opposition to the city’s 12 p.m. closing ordinance. This harms the livelihood of local businesses and diminishes the vibrant social culture. Failing to consider the economic and social benefits of a thriving nightlife, including jobs created in our establishments and neighboring businesses, I urge councilors to reconsider this decree and engage in dialogue with our establishment and other nightlife businesses to create a solution that will benefit everyone.

Hopes noted that Ballers has not received any noise complaints since it opened in 2021, while Boles has only reported one complaint to ‘The Den’ and has since resolved the issue with a new sound system.

The council was supposed to address Ordinance 2024-10C at its Monday night meeting, but the item was introduced, without a vote, by Mayor Carol Bourgoise, who said Councilman Bourgois “would like to conduct more research before introducing the ordinance “.

Here is the full text of the original agenda ordinance:

13C. Introducing Ordinance 2024-10C, to amend and restate Sections 10-2022, Alcoholic Beverages, Certain Prohibited Acts.