ROANOKE, Va. – Roanoke City Council voted to amend the city’s youth curfew ordinance on Monday.
The curfew ordinance wasn’t originally on the agenda, but Mayor Sherman Lea brought it up, saying he wanted to take care of it before school lets out for the summer.
Luke Priddy, a member of the council, wanted to have a second reading on June 20 for the curfew to be enacted, explaining he wanted the public to have input.
Mayor Lea felt differently, expressing his disappointment in public involvement in the past.
“You know these meetings, I tell you we had two meetings and it’s very disappointing both of them in terms of the people who came out to say something on them. I don’t want to make this any more complicated than it has to be,” Lea said. “This is about safety it’s not about taking anybody’s freedom, it’s about keeping kids safe.”
The council then voted to amend the ordinance, which states that children 13 and younger are included in the city’s curfew, and are not allowed to be out between 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. Sunday to Thursday and 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. Friday and Saturday.
Teens 14 to 16 years old are not allowed to be out between 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. Sunday to Thursday, and midnight to 5 a.m. Friday and Saturday.
Exceptions include if children are out with a parent or guardian, there is an emergency, or the child or teen is at work.
The amended curfew is in place until the end of the summer: August 31.
10 News has reached out for a copy of the approved ordinance and we are waiting to hear back.
You can watch Roanoke City Council’s Monday meeting in which the ordinance is discussed here. Mayor Lea brings up the curfew at the 1:49:31 mark, then the discussion continues at the 2:05:26 mark. The vote on the amendment begins at the 2:20:05 mark.