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Council considers limited carve-out for alcohol at downtown events
Summary
Staff proposed drafting a permit or designated-area approach to allow controlled alcohol consumption for downtown or city-sponsored events; council asked for options showing both a designated downtown area and case-by-case permitting with containment and security requirements.
City staff told the Jan. 20 workshop that the city’s existing ordinance prohibits consumption of alcohol on streets, sidewalks and public rights-of-way, but council asked staff to draft options that would permit controlled alcohol consumption for certain downtown or city-sponsored events with conditions.
Unidentified Speaker 5 said the draft concepts would aim to allow downtown programming to include a beer-garden element similar to other cities: "This is to expand it to have a carve out for specifically for, like, special events and downtown programming." He noted Log Jam Fest had a contained beer garden on private property which limited attendees from taking alcohol into the public space and likely reduced sales impact.
Council members and other speakers stressed containment and security measures. Unidentified Speaker 4 recommended secure entry/exit points and visible screening so that attendees cannot leave with open containers: "If someone tries to leave with it, they gotta dump it at the trash can or finish it before they go out the fence." Speaker 8 described a previous city practice of designating a specific downtown area for events rather than permitting every small block party.
Staff will prepare side-by-side drafts showing (a) a designated downtown event area model and (b) a permit-based, case-by-case model with proposed containment, fencing and security conditions for council and public review. No vote or ordinance amendment was adopted during the workshop.
