Houston City Council discusses ordinance requiring businesses to post dress code rules

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- The days of not knowing a dress code at a nightclub could be coming to an end in Houston.

On Wednesday, city leaders discussed changing an ordinance that one council member says is personal.

According to some council members, this proposed change is to stop nightclubs from being able to "arbitrarily select who gets in."

This amendment would require all nightclubs or dance halls in Houston that have a specific dress code to post that policy at or near the entrance so anyone who walks up can see it.

Councilman Edward Pollard and Controller Chris Hollins say they were nearly denied entry over a supposed issue with Hollins' tennis shoes when they tried to walk into a cocktail bar a few weeks ago.

"But I noticed that other individuals with tennis shoes were in the establishment as well," Pollard said.

Pollard said that if there is no policy displayed, with this updated ordinance, it means there is no dress code.

Council members say this benefits everyone because a business can point to the signage, and a customer can see exactly what is required.

On Tuesday, Pollard posted on social media, saying, "After the controller, Chris Hollins, and I experienced this recently, I decided to do something about it."

He also said this has been used as a cover to discriminate and allow someone to be told "no" without justification.

Hollins sent Eyewitness News the following statement:

"Houston is built on diversity and openness - there's no room for discrimination, in any form, wherever it appears. In 2025, we will not tolerate unfair practices that allow bias to masquerade as routine business. If elected officials are encountering this kind of arbitrary treatment, it's almost certain that everyday Houstonians are facing it even more often-and that's unacceptable. We deserve a city where fairness is a lived reality. I support any step that moves us closer to that ideal."

"Places know that you can't discriminate based on race or gender or ethnicity. But they can use the dress code as a way to cover that, and if the dress code is not posted, you don't know what the dress code is, so it's selective enforcement," Pollard said.

While most of Pollard's colleagues were supportive, there was pushback.

"It seems like this ordinance is a bit of government overreach," Councilmember Mary Nan Huffman said.

"This is absolutely overreach. I don't think this is a problem that the public is just aching about that we need to solve. I mean, these are private businesses. They own their property, most all of them have a policy - right to refuse service, Obviously, we have laws designed that prevent them from discriminating based on specific criteria," Councilmember Fred Flickinger continued.

"Councilmember Flickinger, you may not have experienced this before, but I've experienced this numerous times," Pollard responded.

Amid this disagreement, the item was ultimately tagged by Councilmember Julian Ramirez, meaning the vote was delayed.

Ramirez said he wanted to give the city's regulatory affairs department, which would be tasked with enforcing this as well as special interest groups tied to impacted businesses, time to weigh in.

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