Weston is no place for getting down on the dance floor. 
 
 The city has no nightclubs or dance halls and, thanks to a new ordinance, it never will. 
 
 The commission specifically banned those kinds of businesses, and skating rinks, to prevent a temporary rink from being used conceal a nightclub or dance hall, said City Manager John Flint. 
 
 Most South Florida cities regulate those types of businesses, but few ban them outright. 
 
 Residents can still go to neighboring Davie or Pembroke Pines for some dancing or skating. Both cities have skating rinks and nightclubs, including well-known hotspots such as the Roundup or Cafe Iguana. 
 
 Mayor Eric Hersh called the decision a "non-issue," because leaders in suburban Weston have always tried to keep those kinds of businesses out. 
 
 "There aren't those uses in Weston, there won't be those uses in Weston, and we were never planning to allow those uses in Weston," he said. "This is something that we thought would protect the city." 
 
 City code still allows school dances, though. And teens and youths can still gather at the YMCA, school activities and city parks, including a skate park, said Commissioner Jim Norton. 
 
 The reason for the city's ban: Crime and crowds. 
 
 Nightclubs, dance halls and skating rinks all attract "large crowds" on a nightly basis, the new law says, which can cause traffic and noise problems for residents and businesses nearby and strain city resources. 
 
 And, the newly passed ordinance points out, there have been numerous recent calls to the Broward Sheriff's Office about alcohol and narcotics use at nightclubs in the county. 
 
 These and other "unlawful and/or undesirable activities" at the nightclubs and dance halls in nearby cities made Weston want to change its code, Flint said. 
 
 Violence at nightclubs is on the rise throughout South Florida. 
 
 Last year, there were at least nine instances of gunfire in or around South Florida nightclubs, more than twice the number of the year before. In the past decade, 20 lives, nearly all young people, were ended by gunfire in or near a nightclub. 
 
 And since 2002, five people — four in Broward, one in Palm Beach County — have been killed in nightclub stabbings. 
 
 This kind of information led Weston to change its zoning code, Hersh said. No specific application from a hopeful business owner prompted the city to ban these uses, Hersh said. 
 
 "There were no applications on anyone's desk when this passed," he said. "We just thought this was the best thing for our city." 
 
 abarkhurst@tribune.com or 954-356-4451 

 Classic tale of teenage rebellion and repression features a delightful combination of dance choreography and realistic and touching performances. When teenager Ren McCormack and his family move from big-city Chicago to a small Midwestern town, he's in for a real case of culture shock. Though he tries hard to fit in, the streetwise Ren can't quite believe he's living in a place where rock music and dancing are illegal. However, there is one small pleasure: Ariel Moore, a troubled but lovely blonde with a jealous boyfriend. And a Bible-thumping minister, who is responsible for keeping the town dance-free. Ren and his classmates want to do away with this ordinance, especially since the senior prom is around the corner, but only Ren has the courage to initiate a battle to abolish the outmoded ban and revitalize the spirit of the repressed townspeople. Fast-paced drama is filled with such now-famous hit songs as the title track and "Let's Hear It for the Boy". Written by Anonymous
– Somebody get Ren McCormack on the phone. The town of Weston, Fla., has passed an ordinance that specifically bans nightclubs, dance halls, and skating rinks, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reports. None of those establishments has ever existed in the suburban town, and the mayor says they want to keep it that way. "This is something that we thought would protect the city," he says. Clubs and skating rinks have a nasty habit of attracting "large crowds," and "unlawful and/or undesirable activities," the town's city manager explains, citing recent incidents with drugs and alcohol at county nightclubs. Violence has also been a problem in Florida clubs, with 20 people shot and killed in the past 10 years. But what of the Weston youth desperate to shake their groove things? They'll have to settle for school dances and events at the YMCA, the city commissioner says.