January 07, 2004
Local Liquor Authority Heading For Council Consideration
Today's Oregonian reports on the proposed ordinance (pdf, 20kb) from Commissioner Randy Leonard which would grant some local control over certain liquor-serving establishments:
Portland may become the first Oregon city to impose local restrictions on the times when bars and grocery stores serve or sell alcohol if a pattern of disorderly conduct or other nuisance activity can be shown in neighborhoods surrounding those businesses.
Commissioner Randy Leonard will ask the City Council to consider the restrictions at a 6 p.m. hearing Jan. 21. Leonard and other backers of the proposal say it's time for the city to crack down on a handful of Portland establishments that have long ignored neighborhood complaints.
Long-time readers will remember that this proposal first surfaced back in July of last year.
The Oregonian article details some of the opposition from the businesses which would be affected, as well as some neighborhood activists concerned over an increased workload for Crime Prevention Specialists. It also spells out the processes and cosniderations of the new authority, which is also detailed on a City informational page about the so-called "time, place, and manner" ordinance.
Returning to the article:
For example, Leonard said, bars or grocery stores that have a history of problems after a certain time could be forced to cut off liquor sales at that hour.
"Before, it was voluntary," Leonard said. "Now, if they can't comply with a good-neighbor agreement and problems start at 10 p.m., then they would have to close their doors at 10 p.m. every night."
It also reports that the OLCC, which says Portland would become to first city in Oregon to pass such a law, is remaining neutral. Supporters say that the ordinance would in essence give "good neighbor agreements" -- currently used between neighborhoods and potentially-problematic businesses -- legal standing.
Elsewhere in The Oregonian today, S. Renee Mitchell tells one story of neighborhoods and alcohol, and ties it to the "time, place, and manner" proposal.