Alcohol » SLC mayor wants elimination of two-bar-per-block restriction to help boost economic development.
By Derek P. Jensen
The Salt Lake Tribune
Fed up with cluttered alcohol laws and confusion expressed by visitors and locals alike, Salt Lake City has formally called for the end of the two-bar-per-block restriction downtown.
A majority of public feedback sought by City Hall supports the idea, which Mayor Ralph Becker's team hopes will jump-start economic development, entice tourists, and allow a social scene to sprout organically, without antiquated government regulation.
"We wanted to minimize the city's dictating to the market where those places could go," David Everitt, Becker's chief of staff, said Wednesday. Besides, "the state restrictions still completely apply."
Those rules ban bars within 600 feet of a church, park or school.
At the same time, the city wants to explore placing conditions on certain bars near downtown lofts, condos and apartments to avoid complaints. Officials also hope to develop a "holistic" policy -- likely next year -- that addresses smoking and noise associated with urban bars.
Everitt says the city doesn't expect push-back from the Legislature because zoning changes fall under municipal purview. "The Legislature realizes that local land use is very traditionally the province of cities," he said. "What we're doing is still incredibly more restrictive than most cities."
Indeed, Becker is not interested in creating a so-called entertainment district, which pleases City Council Chairman Carlton Christensen. "I don't think anybody's interested in a pure tavern row," he said.
Still, Christensen predicts there "probably is an appetite" on the Council to make the change, since it could boost business and the city's image.
"This aspect of it will be a lot less controversial than the neighborhood [bar] component."
The Council is expected to vote on the downtown revision by the end of the year. A proposal to allow pubs near neighborhoods in established commercial zones still is being crafted.
If adopted, the downtown proposal would essentially blanket the business district. Potential bar owners could tap their kegs from North Temple to nearly 1000 South, and from 200 East to 600 West.
An extensive public-outreach effort has included presentations to community councils, neighborhood group discussions, board briefings, an open house and a planned telephone survey. Out of 169 responses to the alcohol "normalization" proposal, 130 were favorable and 26 opposed, according to the mayor's office.
"It's a great idea," writes Casey Buxton. "It's time for Salt Lake to shake its bad reputation as a closed-off city of religion."
Scores of residents cheered the mayor's move. Wiping away the "archaic" law, they argue, will draw conventioneers, promote walkability, reduce drunken driving, recognize free agency and bring the capital "into the 21st Century."
"It does not make any sense to keep adults from enjoying a legal beverage," Terry Martin writes. "It is time to grow up Utah."
Draper's Shaina Miron Quinn says she and her husband enjoy coming downtown for dinner and wine, but want more options. "It seems reasonable and it retains all of the state and community safeguards," she writes. "We just want what is standard in other American cities."
Others insist pushing the capital toward "normalcy" is a bad idea.
"When we say we need more bars to attract more tourists we are making a degrading assumption that people come to our city to drink," Sasha Pachev writes. "I'd rather have them go somewhere else."
Some residents fret loosening the restrictions will usher too much noise, too much cigarette smoke and the loss of the city's "sober" nature. "To go backwards to the 19th Century like this would be a big mistake," Steven Staker writes. "It would simply create new areas of the city in need of renewal."
Everitt says the main motivation is to let the market -- not city planners drawing drinking borders -- decide.
"The last thing we wanted was this sense that we had the [LDS] temple on one end and the bar zone on the other end, and never the twain shall meet," he said. "We want everybody to feel comfortable."
But even if the Council agrees, could a lack of alcohol licenses at the state render the changes all for naught?
Becker and Everitt concede that is possible, but will not mount a lobbying effort for more licenses on Utah's Capitol Hill. "We've looked at that," Becker said. "At this point, I'm not worried about it."
What's next
The City Council is expected to vote on easing the downtown bar limits by the end of the year. A second proposal -- to allow bars near neighborhoods in "mature" commercial zones -- still is being drafted. It should face the Planning Commission, followed by a Council vote, in the coming months.
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