Longview council approves new alcohol rules for parks; requires library to be closed during beer-garden events

The Longview City Council on March 27 approved a revised city parks alcohol policy that expands the types of alcoholic beverages that may be served at permitted public events, sets new fencing rules keyed to beer-garden size and requires police or security on site. Council members also amended the staff proposal to require the Longview Public Library to be closed for regular business hours during beer-garden events.

The policy matters because it changes what event organizers and nonprofit partners must do to host beer gardens and similar events on city property, affects which downtown and park locations can host alcohol, and sets public-safety and insurance requirements that will affect event budgets and volunteer organizers.

Justin Brown, the city’s recreation manager, presented the staff proposal and said the update was intended to align city permits with Washington State Liquor Control Board practice and to address gaps that excluded local products such as mead and hard seltzers. “If you guys are okay with that as written, we can go that direction,” Brown said when asking council for direction on expanding allowable beverage types and the security/fencing approach.

Key points of the approved policy: - Allowed beverages: The policy as approved now allows organizers who obtain the appropriate Washington State Liquor Control Board special-occasion permit to serve cider, mead and hard seltzers in addition to beer, wine and champagne; distilled spirits may be served under the state licensing pathway discussed in the meeting if the event meets WSLCB rules. City staff said the change responds to local producers who previously could not participate under the narrower definition. - Fencing by size: Staff proposed, and council accepted, a two-tiered fencing requirement: events with a beer-garden footprint of 5,000 square feet or less may use a 42-inch single fence; events larger than 5,000 square feet must use a 6-foot fence or a double-fence configuration. Brown said the 5,000-square-foot threshold is roughly a 50-by-100-foot area and is intended to balance volunteer monitoring capacity and insurer preferences. - Security: The permit will require on-site security; city staff proposed that Longview Police participate in event security and that the event pay for the additional officer hours (overtime or special-event pay). Public comment at the meeting raised the option of private security; staff noted collective-bargaining and liability considerations but said the city will consider private security in future policy refinements. - Approved locations and map: Staff added the Grotto to the list of approved park locations and confirmed other commonly used locations such as Martin’s Dock and portions of R.A. Long Park. Council members asked staff to provide clearer, map-based definitions of the permitted footprint for each venue so the rule does not apply to an entire park frontage where only a small area is intended for the beer garden.

Local event organizers and industry stakeholders urged the council to allow local small businesses to participate. Mark Silva, chair of the Murray Club of Longview and a local events organizer, told council that the nonprofit and volunteer community has a record of running safe beer gardens: “We have a very long history of … doing a very successful event that’s very safe and very community focused, and we’ve never had an issue,” Silva said.

David Rossi, co-owner of Pleasant Hill Distillery, explained how state serving rules affect alcohol volume at events and why distiller participation does not necessarily increase per-person alcohol served: “For clarity on the amount of alcohol being consumed… it doesn’t matter how big the glass is. It matters how much alcohol is in that glass,” Rossi said, describing the half-ounce tasting portions his business uses at festivals.

The council amended the staff motion during debate to require the Longview Public Library to be closed for regular business hours when a beer garden is operating on library grounds; the amended motion passed. Library Director Kendall (first name not given in the record) told council the library building could be made available to event organizers for limited needs such as restroom access or a fundraiser even when the library is closed to regular public hours and asked council to preserve operational discretion for library staff.

Council members also debated the fencing height, whether any locations (playgrounds, playground-adjacent areas, library grounds during open hours) should be excluded, and whether to limit beverage types. Several council members supported the lower, 42-inch fencing option for smaller gardens as a compromise between volunteer staffing limits and insurance concerns; others said they preferred the more cautious higher fence standard.

The council approved the staff proposal as amended (library closed during operating hours) and directed staff to return with clarified maps of permitted park footprints and final permit language. The city reiterated that any special-occasion permits also must meet Washington State Liquor Control Board requirements and that costs for police staffing for events will be paid by the event sponsor rather than the city budget.

Next steps: Staff will publish updated permit guidance and a map of approved footprints for each park location, incorporate the library-closure language approved by council and coordinate with the Washington State Liquor Control Board and the city’s insurer on final permit checklists and insurance certificates.