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Mayor Jerry Dyer announced Monday he is asking Fresno to be removed from a proposed pilot program that would allow bars and nightclubs to serve alcohol until 4 a.m.

Dyer had previously supported — as far as back as his time as police chief — Fresno’s inclusion as one of the pilot cities. After Fresno City Councilmember Garry Bredefeld announced he had support for a resolution opposing the bill along with Council Vice President Tyler Maxwell and Councilmember Miguel Arias, Dyer cited community “anxiety” as a reason to pull out.

“Given recent anxiety on a local level related to potential unintended consequences of SB 930,” Dyer wrote in a letter to SB 930’s author Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), “I cannot let a divisive debate on this issue disrupt Fresno’s positive momentum on so many fronts — including our growing Downtown Fulton entertainment district, the small area that could have benefited under your bill.”

Bredefeld has previously called the plan “reckless and dangerous.” Those sentiments echo the position of former Gov. Jerry Brown, who in 2018 vetoed a similar bill saying it would lead to “mischief” and “mayhem.”

The bill is winding its way through the California State Capitol, with it scheduled to be heard by the Assembly Appropriations Committee on Wednesday.