EAGLE ROCK — Councilman Jose Huizar wants to change city law to allow new restaurants, bars and shops along Colorado Boulevard to stay open beyond 9 p.m.

Huizar introduced a City Council motion to modify what’s called the Colorado Boulevard Specific Plan, an ordinance that has been credited with creating a more pedestrian-friendly environment along the street but also limits new businesses – including restaurants and bars – to operate only between 7 am and 9 pm unless they get special city permission. The law applies only to businesses that opened after 1992, when the law went into effect. Many of the new businesses were not aware of or had ignored the restriction until a new Eagle Rock bar and restaurant recently got in trouble over violating the ordinance.

Huizar, in a recent email newsletter, said the ordinance puts new Colorado businesses at a competitive disadvantage and needs to be updated:

One regulation, or limitation of the current plan, is a prohibition on business operating between 9 p.m. and 7 a.m. – meaning neighborhood establishments that choose to move here need to close earlier, and – in some instances – open later than their competitors in nearby cities, such as Pasadena and Glendale.

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The motion, if adopted by the full council, would direct the Planning Department and City Attorney to look into the feasibility of amending the hours contained in the ordnance.