Madison — Public health officials told the Alcohol License Review Committee (ALRC) on June 18 that alcohol-related deaths, hospitalizations and crashes in Dane County have risen in recent years, and alder Aldo Vittiver urged the committee to use licensing to reduce outlet density.

Julia Olson, supervisor of the substance use prevention and harm reduction team at Public Health Madison & Dane County, presented county and city data on excessive alcohol use, crashes and alcohol-attributed deaths and said the county ranked second in Wisconsin for alcohol-attributable deaths in 2023. "We see many issues related to physical health, mental health, accidents," Olson said, summarizing long- and short-term harms the agency attributes to excessive drinking.

Alder Vittiver said the data show a need to limit concentrations of alcohol retailers near sensitive sites, and introduced a substitute ordinance that builds on a 1947 state statute requiring municipal consideration of 300-foot distances from schools, hospitals and churches. He asked the committee to add treatment facilities, places serving people experiencing homelessness, and existing class A and B licenses to the set of locations that trigger additional review. "We have a duty to uphold the safety, welfare and well-being of our community," Vittiver said, describing the proposal as a modest, evidence-based step.

Committee members debated the policy for more than an hour. Supporters pointed to place-of-last-drink and crash-mapping data Olson presented and to studies linking high outlet density to higher rates of violence and impaired-driving. Critics — including several alder members and business representatives — said the draft ordinance risked harming small, family- or immigrant-owned businesses, could be uneven in practice, and might simply push retail to other locations without changing consumption. Several members also requested more granular data on where people were last drinking (bar vs. private residence) and whether enforcement or alternative interventions could produce similar results with less economic disruption.

Attorney advice at the meeting clarified the change would expand locally the state framework codified in Wisconsin Statutes 125.68(3); the substitute explicitly keeps the council’s ability to waive the prohibition by majority vote and preserves grandfathering for licenses existing before an affected sensitive use opens adjacent to a premise.

After discussion the committee took a procedural vote to recommend the council place the second substitute ordinance "on file, without prejudice" so that staff could refine implementation details and bring additional data to the ALRC. The motion to place on file passed on a roll-call vote: Alders Glen, Westra, Figueroa Cole and Alder Carter voted in favor; Alders Revere and Farley opposed. Committee members asked public health and police to return with clearer place-of-last-drink breakdowns, retailer-level POLD data, and a definition list for the proposed "places serving people who are unhoused" category.

Why it matters: Public health officials described alcohol-related deaths and crashes as rising locally; a licensing-based approach to density would change the baseline review for new class A/B licenses in many downtown and near-campus locations, adding a new hurdle for applicants and requiring the clerk and planning offices to provide precise GIS-backed notifications.

What’s next: The committee recommended the substitute be placed on file to allow staff to return with the requested data and clearer implementation language. Should the council later take up an ordinance, it would require the same two-step review (ALRC recommendation followed by Common Council action).