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Council approves zone change to allow limited alcohol service at new Eamon Park campus; critics urged narrower scope
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Summary
The council approved a zone change that reclassifies a recreational campus (including the new ice arena) to allow limited craft-alcohol service at a permanent restaurant and to enable future event flexibility; opponents urged limiting the change to the restaurant pad to avoid expanding alcohol availability across youth-oriented park areas.
The Billings City Council voted to approve Zone Change 1076, moving a large recreational campus from P1 (parks/open space) to P2 (public/civic/institutional), a change staff and parks officials said was prompted by plans for a restaurant inside the new ice arena that would serve craft alcohol under the limited permissions of P2.
Parks staff and administration told the council the change is intended to provide flexibility for the campus s it becomes a multi-use athletic complex; Gavin (parks staff) said the immediate impetus was a private restaurant proposal inside the ice arena and that the P2 classification would facilitate regulated events without repeated special permits. He added that the change does not automatically allow open public consumption across parklands and that operations inside private facilities would remain subject to licensing and conditions.
Council debate centered on scope. Several council members urged restricting P2 to the single pad/leased restaurant site used by the ice-facility tenant to avoid a broad expansion of alcohol availability across youth athletic areas. Opponents in public testimony warned that rezoning the whole campus could create an optics problem and make it tempting for spectators at youth events to drink in proximity to minors; supporters argued the zone change does not eliminate permitting requirements and that the campus benefits from flexibility for future sports-tourism events.
A substitute motion to limit the rezoning to the leased pad passed in a voice vote among three members but failed to win a majority. The original motion to adopt the campus-wide change (with statutory and code limits on alcohol types and licensing requirements) carried, and the council adopted the zoning commission findings.
Parks staff said the change preserves the municipality nd public-safety ability to regulate hours, event permits and on-site service, and that any future event or operational decisions will continue to require appropriate licensing and coordination with the police department and code enforcement.
