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Council hears update on proposed liquor-license boundary map; legal staff sorting LCB data
Summary
City solicitor's office reported it has obtained a comprehensive but cumbersome list of licensees from the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board and is preparing a clearer map for council consideration; councilmembers emphasized the need for a simpler footprint and neighbor notification.
Legal staff told Harrisburg City Council they have received a comprehensive list of liquor-license records from the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board (LCB) and are preparing a clarified map of active licenses for a pending ordinance (referred to as resolution 20 in discussion).
City solicitor staff cautioned the raw LCB data includes expired and suspended licenses, making it “a bit cumbersome” and requiring staff to filter active licensees before producing a clean map, the solicitor said. “They include all the expired ones and suspended ones. So we're having to pull through it,” the solicitor said, and reported the data arrived as a large spreadsheet.
Council members said the city's previous map extended to Harris Street and had a “wiggly” boundary that the LCB found difficult to follow. Solicitor staff said the team is likely to propose a simpler rectangular footprint to improve clarity for both the LCB and affected business owners, but emphasized that neighbors must be informed and that council must choose the lines.
Council discussion noted that new businesses have opened since the prior map was drafted, so the map will need to incorporate current active licenses. Legal staff said they expect to have a proposal for the council's next session and welcomed council input on boundary placement prior to that meeting. No formal vote or action was taken; the matter remains in progress and will return for further deliberation.
