SAN ANTONIO — Hemisfair Park is one of six parks in the city that is open 24 hours, but a curfew could soon cut that number down to five.
San Antonio City Council members have proposed a curfew that could begin at 11 p.m. or midnight, and go until 5 a.m.
"We did engage all of the stakeholders in recent weeks," said Marc Whyte, who represents District 10. "Everybody around here, all the business owners are for it."
Andres Andujar, the CEO of Hemisfair, has seen the park change in the past 11 years. He says it isn't uncommon to see people walking through at midnight, if not later.
"Occasionally people will gather here and begin celebrations that are way past the midnight point," Andujar said. "And there are residents and hotel guests that will hear that activity. Without a curfew, we cannot ask those visitors that are enjoying their time at late hours to move on to another location that would be less disruptive. There is also occasional mischief that could show up in the form of tagging or breaking glass, breaking a window (and) petty theft."
According to San Antonio police, the Hemisfair Park area is not problematic for violent crime, and more than half of all calls happen between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m. That's outside of the proposed curfew hours.
For this reason, District 2 Councilman Jalen McKee-Rodriguez said at Friday's Public Safety Committee meeting that he wouldn't support the ordinance.
"What the actual desire is, is the increased lighting, the increased police visibility," he said. "It sounds like those are the things that are actually wanted, and that the curfew is just an opportunity to cite random people who just so happen to be there."
Whyte argues the curfew is nothing to worry about for most residents.
"Folks really shouldn't be too worried about this," Whyte said. "f you're passing through the park trying to get to your car somewhere else, these citations that could be issued due to the new curfew, they're discretionary. And our police officers do a great job on deciding when to cite somebody."
For Hemisfair, the proposed ordinance is preventative.
"Perception is very critical for a destination like Hemisfair in that we need to protect," Andjuar said. "It's the perception of security and the actual delivery of security, so this (proposed curfew) is preventive, largely, but in response to what we have noticed in the area with more and more activity that's taking place this year."
SAPD told KENS 5 in a statement that it has assigned an additional officer to patrol Hemisfair Park between the hours of noon and midnight.
"We are also evaluating to see if additional staffing is needed during the evening and nighttime hours," the agency said.
City Council will vote on whether to implement the curfew in August.
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