Vernon Jones may have vetoed the 2:30a bar closing time bill passed by the DeKalb County Commission last month, citing potential lost revenue, but that hasn’t stopped him from coming up with alternative means of deterring the most egregious and annoying nightclub offenders.

Connect the dots.

First, Jones vetoes the earlier closing hours bill, allowing bars in DeKalb to remain open ’til 4am, unlike neighboring Atlanta, which closes up shop at 2a.  Nightclubs and bars breath a sigh of relief.

Then comes Operation: Hammer Time.  County Police descend upon nightclubs, bars and strip clubs issuing 78 violations and making 109 arrests for things like permit violations.  Nightclubs and bars are caught off guard and begin reaching for the oxygen mask.

This was followed by the less-exciting sequel: Operation Hammer Time II where restaurants and hotels got the same treatment.

Then today the DeKalb County Zoning Board of Appeals ruled that the controversial nightclub that started this whole fiasco (Pure Atlanta) was not appropriate for C1 commercial zoning because it does not have a kitchen (and therefore cannot be considered a “restaurant”).  The board stated that nightclubs without kitchens should be grouped along places like bowling alleys and movie theaters as “recreation”.

The ruling has wide implications for any nightclub or bar in the county that doesn’t cook its own food.  If the ruling still stands after appeal, many nightclubs and bars could be shutdown.

Just like after Operation Hammer Time, county officials are playing dumb to the broader implications of this ruling.

From the AJC…

Kristie Swink, spokeswoman for the county, originally said the decision was not meant to close the club and that the planning department was going to review the ruling. A day later, she said the ball was in the club’s court and it had to successfully appeal the board’s ruling or be shut down.

But ultimately, as anyone that’s followed this months-long story can see, when you begin connect all the dots, you get a picture of a CEO that wanted to use quieter, alternative methods (law enforcement, zoning board) to deter nightclubs from crossing the county line into DeKalb, instead of a highly public, blanket legislation.

If you happen to see a group of well-dressed people with clipboards trolling the streets of your neighborhood this Sunday, don’t be alarmed.  They aren’t checking to see if your lights are on timers or want you to give money to the Democratic Party of Georgia.  These folks are compiling a list of the “best dressed” holiday houses in Decatur.

On Sunday, December 16th, these unaccredited “decoration judges” will ride along the city streets looking to dub one Decatur home as the best decorated house in the city.  The top ten homes will be displayed on the city’s website.

What do you win?  Well the overall winner gets the “Commissioners Cup” according to the city’s website, while runners up get a pic on the website and 364 days of bragging rights (if that’s the kind of neighbor you are).

So, when the sun rises tomorrow, get those semi-wet leaves off the lawn and down to the curb, get up on a ladder and deck the freakin’ halls with lights, swags and giant inflatable snow globes.

If you’re still looking for inspiration after that motivational peptalk, check out the 2006 winners here.