Next round's on me, says S.L. mayor - Reform » He wants to 'normalize' city booze laws
by Derek Jensen
The Salt Lake Tribune
As epiphanies go, Utah's decision to eighty-six its arcane private clubs and Zion curtains was colossal -- drawing international headlines as the state's biggest booze revision since the 1960s.
But the breakthrough on Capitol Hill also energized leaders down the street at City Hall.
Now, Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker feels the time is right to cash in a campaign pledge and pull the progressive capital's booze rules into the 21st Century.
"I would like to do some normalizing," Becker said, borrowing a term employed by Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. during his triumph over private clubs. "I'm confident we'll be able to work out some comprehensive changes to our liquor policies."
On tap: Eliminating the two-bar-per-block restriction, paving a path for neighborhood pubs, and creating a downtown entertainment district that is more alcohol tolerant.
Language already is being vetted by the city attorney, and Becker plans to serve the City Council his reform cocktail as soon as early summer.
But is the sophomore-year mayor going too far? Even if couched as a pro-business addition, could Becker's move backfire when the Legislature reconvenes?
Rep. Greg Hughes, the Draper Republican who led the "normalizing" effort along with Huntsman, says it depends.
Crafting consensus requires doing the hard work early, he says. "That's how we did it at the Legislature."
That means bringing the hospitality industry, Utah Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, Mothers Against Drunk Driving and the LDS Church all to the negotiating table -- a strategy Becker says he will follow to achieve balance.
"If it isn't a collaborative process ... you may see some of those [parties] looking for redress in a legislative session in the future," said Hughes, who was told before the session there was "no way under the sun" private clubs would be eliminated. "What you have to do is ignore the critics and get the people communicating."
"I have always admired Ralph's ability to bring people together," the lawmaker added. "If anyone can do it at the city level, it's the mayor." Becker says liquor discussions have been brewing behind the scenes for the past year-and-a-half. His goal is a sensible rewrite of the city's liquor rules -- easy for the public to understand -- that balances economic development and public safety. The mayor also wants to weigh neighborhood interests, tourism, and the city's diverse population.
"I'm not overly concerned about recriminations from the Legislature," Becker, former House minority leader, said. "But I do want to make sure that we involve all the interests."
Scott Beck, president and CEO of the Salt Lake Convention and Visitors Bureau, says clustering clubs is very important and creates a sense of place for visitors and locals.
"We would prefer it to be like it is in every other city where there isn't a limit," he said. "And with the free market, organically, those things will work where they are supported."
Former Mayor Rocky Anderson tried in vain to ease the rules, though insiders say his contentious relationship with the City Council did not help. That shouldn't be a problem with the current group, according to Councilman J.T. Martin, who came into office the same time as Becker.
"There's four votes in the council for it," he said, cautioning the capital cannot just "open the floodgates."
"We will be much more successful in our good, sound liberalization of liquor laws if we don't let the pendulum swing too far."
But boosting the density of bars, no matter where they are, always poses a threat, insists Art Brown, president of Mothers Against Drunk Driving's Utah chapter.
"When you increase the number of open bars, research shows you increase the prospect of public-safety problems," he said.
Brown worries neighborhood bars will expose more kids to alcohol and entice them to drink. And he argues scrapping private clubs shouldn't have a ripple effect. "It doesn't seem to me it necessarily has to trigger everything Salt Lake City is doing," he said.
Robert McCarthy, who owns Stoneground restaurant and just filed a zoning-amendment petition to serve liquor at his Jam in the Marmalade club, sees it just the opposite.
"The city has been hanging out and seeing what direction the state would go," he said, calling the private-club change "a nod to the city."
"I don't think it's going to be an overreach. If a person is not running a good establishment, he or she would not be in business. With good enforcement, it will take care of itself."
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