Injunction spells out conditions hotel must meet to stay open

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Fencing, surveillance cameras and background checks on all guests. Those are some of the things owners of a north Charlotte hotel have agreed to do to stay in business.

The owners of the Budget Inn on North Graham Street signed off on an injunction that spells out more than a dozen conditions they have to meet to stay open.

Police have threatened to close the hotel as a public nuisance because they say it's been a source of crime problems like drugs and prostitution for several years.

"We tried the other way. We worked with some of these hotels for three years, and now the businesses in the area know we're serious," Lt. Ken Schul said Tuesday, the day after the owners of the Budget Inn agreed to the permanent injunction that is patterned after others police have drawn up on other hotels and motels.

Among the terms of the agreement, the Budget Inn will have to have a manager, employee or security officer on the property at all times. They also must hire armed security guards to patrol the property between 11 p.m. and 2 a.m. on Friday and Saturday nights. They have to install video surveillance cameras and fencing around the property and do background checks on all guests.

They also cannot rent rooms to people who live in ZIP codes near the motel.

"We have found that certain people that stay in these hotels that are in a ZIP code close to this area are usually up to no good," Schul said.

The restrictions put in place under the injunction are bringing positive response from some nearby businesses.

"Terrific news. It's great news," said Dave Jacobson, who owns  a tarpaulin store next to the Budget Inn. Jacobson said he has seen a lot of problems spilling over from the hotel and is ready for an improvement.

But one of the owners of the Budget Inn suggested it may not be a practical solution.

"I think the problem is that this is a bad solution.”

Amit Patel said they already have made many of the changes required under the agreement, but he isn't sure they'll be able to afford some of the more expensive changes, like the security system, since they only charge $45 a night for a room. He said it may not be practical to expect his employees to check the backgrounds of everyone coming to the hotel and he worries that complying may force them out of business.

"We're going to abide by the rules, but at some point we're not going to be able to survive this," Patel said.

WSOC