Proposed Revisions to the Kelvyn Felder Ordinance

Sections 12-10-40 through 12-10-54 • Birmingham General Code

Prepared by Joshua Thomas • May 2026

Proposed Revisions to the Kelvyn Felder Ordinance

Sections 12-10-40 through 12-10-54, Birmingham General Code

Prepared by Joshua Thomas — 19-year Birmingham hospitality industry veteran

May 2026

Sec. 12-10-40 — Short Title

UNCHANGED. "This article shall be known as the Kelvyn Felder Ordinance."

Sec. 12-10-41 — Definitions

Retain all existing definitions unchanged.

MODIFY — "Serious incident" definition:

Replace the current definition with outcome-based criteria:

"Serious incident" means an incident occurring on or connected to the establishment that involves: 1. Discharge of a firearm inside the establishment or on the venue responsibility area 2. Use or brandishing of a weapon (firearm, knife, or other deadly weapon) 3. Any incident resulting in hospitalization of a patron, employee, or bystander 4. Any incident resulting in criminal charges being filed

A physical altercation that is contained by security without weapons involvement, hospitalization, or criminal charges shall not constitute a serious incident.

Rationale: A 3-person altercation is common in nightlife and happens regularly. The current definition doesn't distinguish between a scuffle that security handles in 30 seconds and a genuine safety failure. Outcome-based criteria target actual dangerous incidents.

ADD — "Venue responsibility area" definition:

"Venue responsibility area" means the property owned or leased by the establishment, including the interior space, any dedicated patio or outdoor area under the venue's control, any parking area owned or leased exclusively by the venue, and any area where the venue stations staff or manages patron queues.

ADD — Incident attribution rule:

A serious incident shall be attributed to the establishment when it involves a current patron, an employee, or a person ejected within the preceding 60 minutes, AND occurs within the venue responsibility area or is directly connected to an altercation that originated inside the establishment.

Incidents involving individuals with no connection to the venue's operations shall not be attributed to the establishment regardless of proximity.

Rationale: Boston, Seattle, and Cleveland all define venue responsibility boundaries. "Immediate vicinity" is too vague and holds venues liable for random street crime they can't control. This definition protects good operators while holding venues accountable for situations they contributed to.

ADD — Dispersal duty:

When ejecting patrons involved in an altercation, the venue shall take reasonable steps to ensure separated departure — including staggered ejection, use of separate exits where available, and visual confirmation that the first ejected party has left the venue responsibility area before the second party is released.

If an ejected person refuses to leave the area adjacent to the venue, the venue shall contact police and document the call. Incidents occurring on public property after proper ejection procedures have been followed and police have been contacted shall not be attributed to the establishment.

Rationale: Industry best practices (International Foundation for Protection Officers, Crime Doctor security guidelines) recommend staggered ejection to prevent continued altercations outside. This creates a clear standard venues can follow and protects them when they do.

REMOVE — "Late-Night Establishment" definition.

Replace with incident-based compliance tier system (see new Section 12-10-46A below).

Rationale: The midnight threshold captures every bar in Birmingham regardless of safety record. No comparable city (Nashville, New Orleans, Seattle, Cleveland, Atlanta) classifies venues by hours of operation for safety purposes. An incident-based system targets actual problem venues while allowing clean operators to focus on running their business.

Sec. 12-10-42 — Persons under 21 prohibited; non-licensed sales

UNCHANGED.

Sec. 12-10-43 — Exemption for certain secured areas

UNCHANGED.

Sec. 12-10-44 — Applicability

UNCHANGED.

Sec. 12-10-45 — Free/discounted alcoholic beverages unlawful

UNCHANGED.

Sec. 12-10-46 — Safety Plan Requirements

Subsection (a) — General compliance

UNCHANGED.

Subsection (b) — Written safety plan contents

Items (1) through (7): UNCHANGED from 2026 amendment. All good policy.

  1. Number and location of all security personnel
  2. Occupancy load, average attendance, entertainment type, days and hours of operation
  3. ID checking and patron search procedures
  4. Procedures for ensuring 21+ alcohol service
  5. Violent incident and emergency procedures
  6. Training description — type, provider, date, list of who completed (expanded version)
  7. Crowd control and overcrowding prevention

Item (8): MODIFY. "The establishment's plan for maintaining order within the venue responsibility area as defined in Sec. 12-10-41."

Rationale: Ties to our defined venue responsibility area instead of the vague "accessory premises or open space adjacent to such premises."

Items (9) through (12): UNCHANGED from 2026 amendment. All good policy.

  1. Contact info for safety/security/complaints person
  2. Proof security officers are state-licensed or exempted. ADD: Proof of Birmingham door staff training certification for all security personnel (see Sec. 12-10-52(d) below).
  3. Emergency evacuation plan specific to the establishment (new)
  4. Clear, legible site plan — interior and exterior layout (new). ADD: The city shall provide a standard template and guidance for site plan preparation.

Subsection (c) — Written safety plan filing

(c)(1): UNCHANGED from 2026 amendment. Plan must include all elements from subsection (b).

(c)(2): MODIFY. Phased compliance timeline: - 30 days from effective date: File safety plan and site plan with chief of police and chairman of public safety committee - 90 days: Camera systems compliant with Sec. 12-10-52(b); all staff training documented per (b)(6); door staff certification completed - 120 days: Camera inspections completed (subject to BPD scheduling); employee certificates filed (subject to city form availability) - New establishments: File all documentation at time of application with department of finance.

Rationale: 45 days is insufficient for 130+ venues to simultaneously write 12-section safety plans, upgrade cameras, get inspections, train staff, and file employee certificates on forms that may not be available. Phased implementation prioritizes documentation first, then operational compliance.

(c)(3): UNCHANGED from 2026 amendment. Safety plan available to police and city enforcement only. Patron and neighborhood resident access removed.

(c)(4): MODIFY. Annual update filed with chief of police. If no material changes, a letter certifying no changes is acceptable. ADD: Every three years, a full safety plan review and re-filing is required regardless of material changes.

Rationale: A venue could send the same "no changes" letter for a decade under the current language. A 3-year full review ensures plans stay current.

(c)(5): UNCHANGED. Plans must comply with Sec. 12-10-52.

Subsection (d) — Late Night Establishment Additional Requirements

REMOVE ENTIRE SUBSECTION. Replace with new Sec. 12-10-46A (Incident-Based Compliance Tiers).

Requirements from subsection (d) are redistributed as follows:

Original (d) Requirement Disposition
(d)(1) 24-hour contact Moved to Tier 1 — all venues (see 12-10-46A)
(d)(2) Additional site plan Redundant with (b)(12) — removed
(d)(3)-(4) APOSTC officers Tier 3 only (see 12-10-46A)
(d)(5) Parking lighting Moved to Tier 1 — limited to venue-controlled property (see 12-10-52)
(d)(6) HD cameras, no audio, signage No-audio and signage moved to Tier 1 in 12-10-52(b); camera coverage already in 12-10-52(b)
(d)(7) Sunday 2 AM closing Retained as-is
(d)(8) Private club one-strike revocation Replaced with graduated enforcement (see 12-10-46A)

NEW — Sec. 12-10-46A — Incident-Based Compliance Tiers

Purpose

To create a proportional, escalating compliance system that concentrates resources on venues with demonstrated safety problems while allowing responsible operators to focus on running their businesses.

Tier 1 — Standard (all entertainment establishments and clubs)

All requirements of Sec. 12-10-46(b) items 1-12 apply, plus: 1. Security ratio of 1 per 150 occupants from 10:00 PM through close 2. All security personnel must hold Birmingham door staff training certification (Sec. 12-10-52(d)) 3. 24-hour contact information for owner, manager, or designee on file with BPD 4. Camera system compliant with Sec. 12-10-52(b), including no audio recording and visible signage 5. Adequate lighting in parking areas owned or leased by the establishment 6. Incident reporting per Sec. 12-10-53 7. Unless designated as a private club, must close at 2:00 AM on Sunday mornings

For venues in shared facilities or entertainment districts, lighting and security of common parking areas may be addressed through a shared safety plan among participating venues, with costs split among participants. The city shall facilitate district-level safety coordination for designated entertainment districts.

Tier 2 — Elevated (triggered by 1 qualifying serious incident within any rolling 12-month period)

All Tier 1 requirements plus: 1. Venue must submit a corrective action plan to BPD within 14 days identifying what went wrong, what changes are being implemented, and a timeline for implementation 2. BPD reviews and approves the corrective action plan 3. Monthly check-in with Business Compliance Unit for 6 months 4. BPD review of camera system functionality and safety plan implementation 5. If corrective action plan is not implemented within 30 days, OR a second serious incident occurs within 12 months, enhanced security ratio of 1 per 100 occupants from 10:00 PM through close takes effect

Rationale: One serious incident (weapons, hospitalization, criminal charges) deserves attention and a corrective plan. The enhanced security ratio is not automatic — it's triggered by failure to act on the plan or a second incident. This mirrors Boston's approach of license review with conditions after an incident, and Cleveland's requirement for an abatement plan before escalating penalties.

De-escalation: A venue that maintains zero serious incidents for 12 consecutive months may petition the Public Safety Committee to return to Tier 1.

Tier 3 — High Risk (triggered by 3+ qualifying serious incidents within any rolling 12-month period, OR failure to implement Tier 2 corrective action plan)

All Tier 2 requirements plus: 1. APOSTC certified officers required: 2 for capacity ≤ 150, 3 for capacity > 150 2. Venue and APOSTC officers shall develop a security deployment plan in coordination with BPD, specific to the venue's layout, entry points, and identified risk areas. The plan shall specify officer positioning, rotation, and communication protocols. The plan must be approved by BPD and updated after any change in layout or operations. 3. APOSTC officers must be onsite from 10:00 PM through 30 minutes after doors are locked or until all patrons have dispersed 4. $500,000 liability insurance per Alabama Code § 6-5-338 as amended by HB202 5. Quarterly BPD review 6. Operating hour restrictions at council discretion 7. Council hearing to review venue status

De-escalation: A venue that maintains zero serious incidents for 12 consecutive months may petition the Public Safety Committee to move down one tier.

Private Club Graduated Enforcement

Private clubs are subject to all Tier 1 requirements plus security ratio through close and 24-hour contact.

Step 1 — Corrective Action (1st serious incident): Venue identifies what went wrong and submits a corrective action plan to BPD within 14 days. BPD reviews and approves. Venue implements the fix.

Step 2 — Escalated Oversight (2nd serious incident within 24 months OR failure to implement Step 1 plan): City-mandated security escalation — APOSTC officers required per Tier 3 standards, enhanced security ratio (1:100), monthly BPD check-ins. After-hours privileges may be restricted.

Step 3 — Suspension (3rd serious incident within 36 months OR failure to comply with Step 2): After-hours privileges suspended for 6 months. Must close at 2:00 AM. Council hearing to review. Venue may present case and plan for reinstatement.

Step 4 — Revocation (continued pattern after suspension OR refusal to comply): Private club license revoked. Must apply for regular business license.

Appeals Process

Venue may appeal any tier escalation or private club enforcement action to the Public Safety Committee within 30 days. Appeals hearing allows the venue to present evidence of corrective actions taken. Committee may modify, reduce, or overturn the escalation based on evidence. Clean record for 12 months at any step allows the venue to petition for de-escalation.

Incident Classification

Venues report all incidents per Sec. 12-10-53 requirements. BPD classifies incidents as "serious" or "non-serious" based on the definitions in Sec. 12-10-41. Venues may contest a serious incident classification to the Public Safety Committee within 30 days.

Reporting Incentive

Failure to report a qualifying incident within the timeframe required by Sec. 12-10-53 shall be treated as a separate violation and may independently trigger tier escalation, regardless of the severity of the underlying incident.

Sec. 12-10-47 — Employee certificates

MODIFY: 1. The city shall create, publish online, and make available at the City Clerk's office the employee certificate form within 30 days of this ordinance taking effect. 2. All other requirements unchanged — managers file with city, customer-facing staff file with venue, maintained on premises, available for inspection. 3. MODIFY: Approval authority for employees who answer affirmatively to criminal history questions is transferred from the full city council to the Business Compliance Unit. BCU shall process applications within 14 business days. 4. Existing employees shall have 90 days from form availability to file certificates.

Rationale: The ordinance has required these certificates "on forms made available by the city" since 2013. We searched for these forms and could not find them publicly accessible online. They should be easy to locate and readily available — ideally downloadable from the city website. The city should provide the tools to comply before enforcing compliance. Additionally, requiring full city council review of individual customer-facing employee applications is an impractical bottleneck.

Sec. 12-10-48 — Employment without certificate unlawful

UNCHANGED.

Sec. 12-10-49 — False responses unlawful

UNCHANGED.

Sec. 12-10-50 — Certificate maintained on premises

UNCHANGED.

Sec. 12-10-51 — Manager required on premises during business hours

UNCHANGED.

Sec. 12-10-52 — Security Personnel, Cameras, and Premises Maintenance

Subsection (a) — Interior security personnel

MODIFY: "From 10:00 PM and while open to the public through the time at which the establishment closes to the public or all patrons have vacated the premises, whichever is later, all establishments and clubs shall provide minimum interior security personnel of a number equaling one security person per each occupancy level, as established according to the city's technical codes, as amended, city's fire marshal of 150 occupants, or any portion thereof."

Remove Late Night trigger language. Replace with: "Establishments subject to Tier 2 or Tier 3 requirements under Sec. 12-10-46A shall comply with the enhanced security ratios specified therein."

Rationale: Restores the "through close" standard from the original ordinance (fixing the midnight gap), keeps the start time at 10 PM (7 PM adds cost without safety benefit), and ties enhanced requirements to the tier system.

Subsection (b) — Security camera systems

RETAIN all 2026 amendment expansions: - Interior coverage of all seating areas, public areas, employee areas (excluding bathrooms) - Exterior coverage including parking lots - Facial quality in low light AND daylight - At least one employee per operating shift trained on operation and downloading - Incident footage stored minimum 30 days for incidents involving injury or death - Timestamped, activated during all hours

ADD from Late Night section (now Tier 1): - No audio recording capability - Visible signage notifying patrons of camera presence

MODIFY — Camera inspection process: - The Chief of Police shall designate Business Compliance Unit officers or other qualified designees to conduct camera inspections - Venues may request an inspection upon camera installation or upgrade - Inspections shall be completed within 21 days of request - If BPD fails to conduct the inspection within 21 days, the venue may submit a self-certification with photographic evidence of camera functionality, subject to BPD verification within 60 days - Venues shall not be prohibited from operating solely due to inspection scheduling delays by BPD

Rationale: The camera requirements are strong and modern. The only fix needed is the inspection bottleneck — 130+ venues can't all be inspected within 45 days without a defined process. The per-shift training requirement ensures footage can be pulled whenever needed, not just when the one trained person is working.

Subsection (c) — Premises cleanliness

UNCHANGED.

NEW — Subsection (d) — Door Staff Training Certification

Modeled on Tennessee's Dallas' Law (HB0322, effective January 1, 2023):

All security personnel working at entertainment establishments and clubs must complete a city-approved training program including: 1. De-escalation techniques (minimum 2 hours) 2. Safe restraint procedures (minimum 1 hour) 3. CPR and basic first aid certification 4. Legal use of force under Alabama law 5. Patron screening procedures 6. When and how to contact law enforcement 7. Incident documentation procedures 8. Dispersal and ejection procedures per Sec. 12-10-41

Training must be completed within 90 days of employment. Refresher training required every 24 months. Training records maintained on premises per Sec. 12-10-46(b)(6).

The city shall designate or approve training providers and maintain a registry of certified door staff.

Penalty: Knowingly employing security personnel without valid training certification shall result in a mandatory 30-day suspension of the establishment's alcoholic beverage license per violation, per employee.

Rationale: Nashville passed Dallas' Law in 2022 after a security guard killed a patron through improper restraint. The law has been in effect since January 2023. The #1 prevention point for bar violence is competent door staff. Training requirements are affordable (~$150/guard), scalable (any venue can comply), and address the root cause (untrained staff handling volatile situations). The 30-day license suspension per violation is a more powerful deterrent than any fine — it's the model Nashville uses and it works.

Sec. 12-10-53 — Duty to maintain order; duty to report incidents

Subsection (a)

UNCHANGED. Duty to maintain order, exclude drunk/disorderly persons.

Subsection (b)

MODIFY: "Same duty extended to the venue responsibility area as defined in Sec. 12-10-41, including controlling crowds, admittance lines, and patron dispersal per the dispersal duty defined in Sec. 12-10-41."

Subsection (c)

UNCHANGED in substance. Immediately report assaults/affrays by phone. Written report within 36 hours. Failure to report = grounds for revocation or suspension.

ADD: "Incident classification as 'serious' or 'non-serious' per Sec. 12-10-41 shall be determined by BPD, not by the reporting venue. Venues may contest a classification to the Public Safety Committee within 30 days."

ADD: "Failure to report a qualifying incident within the required timeframe shall be treated as a separate violation and may independently trigger tier escalation under Sec. 12-10-46A, regardless of the severity of the underlying incident."

Rationale: Venues already underreport incidents. An ordinance that makes reporting financially devastating will make underreporting worse. BPD classification removes the burden of legal determination from a manager at 1 AM. The reporting incentive provision makes hiding an incident riskier than reporting one honestly.

Subsection (d)

UNCHANGED. Habitual breaches = grounds for revocation/suspension.

Sec. 12-10-54 — Compliance with ABC laws

UNCHANGED.

NEW — Sec. 12-10-55 — City Compliance Obligations

Purpose

To establish that compliance with this ordinance is a shared responsibility between venues and the city.

Requirements:

  1. Employee certificate forms: The city shall create, publish online, and make available at the City Clerk's office the employee certificate form required by Sec. 12-10-47 within 30 days of this ordinance taking effect.

  2. Safety plan template: The city shall publish a safety plan template meeting the requirements of Sec. 12-10-46(b) within 30 days of this ordinance taking effect, including guidance on site plan preparation and a reference guide for Ala. Admin. Code r. 20-X-6-.02.

  3. Camera inspection capacity: The Chief of Police shall designate sufficient personnel to complete camera inspections within the timelines specified in Sec. 12-10-52(b).

  4. Training program designation: The city shall designate or approve door staff training providers within 60 days of this ordinance taking effect.

  5. BCU staffing and reporting: The Business Compliance Unit shall publish annually: the number of personnel assigned to venue compliance, the number of inspections conducted, the number of violations issued, and the number of safety plans on file. This report shall be presented to the Public Safety Committee.

  6. Police response: When a venue contacts police regarding an ejected patron refusing to leave the area adjacent to the venue, BPD shall respond. Venue compliance with dispersal procedures and police notification shall be documented and considered in any subsequent tier determination.

  7. District coordination: For designated entertainment districts, the city shall facilitate district-level safety coordination, including shared safety plans for common areas and shared parking.

Rationale: The existing ordinance places all compliance burden on venues while the city has not consistently provided the tools, forms, inspections, or enforcement infrastructure to support compliance. This section establishes that the city has obligations too — and creates accountability through annual reporting.

SUMMARY OF CHANGES

What stays from the 2026 amendment:

What changes:

What's new:

What these changes achieve: