Encinitas will look into banning all-night businesses from being open from 2 to 5 a.m.

The proposal, which came at the request of a 7-Eleven franchise owner, was placed on Wednesday’s agenda by Councilmember Jim O’Hara. After debating the concept, the council ultimately voted 4-1, with Councilmember Joy Lyndes opposed, to direct city staff to do more research and see if Encinitas could use other cities’ ordinances as a template when crafting its own business hour limits. The issue will return at a future council meeting for more debate.

“My mom and dad still say nothing good happens after 2 a.m. … (and) for the most part they’re right,” O’Hara said as he explained why he was seeking the daily closure period.

If the city does this, it could reduce crime and create a much-needed, nighttime quiet period in downtown, he said.

Lyndes said she could support the council sending a letter endorsing the 7-Eleven franchise owner’s request to change his business hours, if the issue is that his corporate franchise agreement currently requires him to stay open 24 hours a day and he doesn’t want to. But, she said, she didn’t support a citywide ban on all 24-hour businesses.

“I don’t think it’s the city’s job to carve out public policy for one business owner,” she said.

Mayor Bruce Ehlers and Councilmember Luke Shaffer also said they had reservations about the proposal. Ehlers called it “a bit of an overreach,” while Shaffer said, “it almost seems to be throwing the baby out with the bath water, a bit.”

Both men said they would support exploring the concept and hosting another public meeting on the issue. Ehlers suggested that the council hand the topic over to the city’s soon-to-form business commission and Shaffer said that would be a “good first task” for that new group, but O’Hara said it would be months before the new group was fully operational and he wanted things to move faster than that.

Councilmember Marco San Antonio, who operates a sign business downtown, said he could see both sides of the business hours proposal and agreed with O’Hara that giving the issue to the business commission could delay things.

When O’Hara submitted his agenda item request, he included letters from the city’s four business organizations. Most of these letters had September dates and stated that they supported a request by Harbir Virk — franchise owner of the Moonlight Beach and Cardiff 7-Elevens — to adjust his store hours, allowing him to close from 2 to 5 a.m.

One letter — dated Dec. 10 — from the Leucadia 101 Main Street Association stated that it supported adjusting the city’s business operating hours on a general basis. It recommended a closure period from 2:30 to 5 a.m.

At Wednesday’s meeting, there was only one public speaker on the item — Encinitas resident Fabian Gonell — who said the city shouldn’t force late-night businesses to close.

Gonell said there appear to be more than 20 businesses in Encinitas currently open during the proposed closure period, including gas stations, veterinary services, gyms and fast food restaurants. He added that he had researched crime data for the Encinitas region and there appeared to be far less criminal activity between 2 and 5 a.m. than one might expect.