The Point Pleasant Beach Borough Council introduced an ordinance on Tuesday night that would restrict the sale of alcohol to midnight, unless licensed businesses pay an extra fee, which would allow them to sell until 2 a.m.

It's a measure meant to "maintain quality of life" but...it's a terrible idea.

Like it or not, Point Pleasant Beach is a tourist town. There are pros and cons to that, but at some point you have to realize that you can't have your cake and eat it too.

The issue in Point is that late night party-goers are causing trouble...acting like drunken idiots, fighting, yelling, relieving themselves in public, and generally being irresponsible along the boardwalk. This has led to stepped up police presence on the taxpayers' dime.

I'm no party regular on the Point Beach scene. To be honest, it's too far for me when I could just as easily go to Belmar or other places closer to where I live. This is just an honest view of the situation.

For Point Beach residents, I can understand the annoyance at having to pay more to control rowdy out-of-towners. For those in the vicinity of these bars, I can understand how that kind of ridiculous and inappropriate behavior would be infuriating. No one wants to be kept up all night.

However, didn't anyone consider that when they moved in? If you live near a club, in a tourist town, what did you think it would be like? Yes, people should be respectful when leaving a bar, but residents need to be realistic.

Now, with this measure, bars and restaurants could pay extra to stay open late. That cost will most certainly be passed on to the consumers, leading most to go elsewhere anyway. The customers go away, the businesses go away.

Granted, for a place like Jenkinsons, the family attractions like the aquarium, mini-golf, and rides are enough to bring plenty of families (and dollars) in, but how long before residents start complaining about that too?

I've seen parents on the boardwalk let their kids run around screaming, throwing food, and yes, in one instance, a little boy relieving himself in public. Is it only okay then because it's happening during the day? Or because the kid doesn't know any better? (Because in that instance, I'd venture that the drunk in that moment doesn't know any better either...but that's another story.)

The Borough Council claims to be trying to improve the quality of life for its residents, I just wonder how great the quality of life will be when they are paying more in taxes to make up for the lost revenue from some of the biggest businesses in town.

The ordinance has to go through a second vote before it becomes law.

Am I way off base? Share your thoughts below!

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