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Council hears first reading of ordinance to create riverfront liquor‑license fund; collection deferred to 2027
Summary
Council heard first reading of an ordinance to create a restricted, non‑reverting fund for fees from riverfront alcohol beverage licenses. Redevelopment staff said only licenses granted within the riverfront district would be assessed and no fees will be collected until July 1, 2027; public comment urged fees for sidewalk/outdoor dining space.
An ordinance on first reading would create a formal fund to receive fees associated with the city’s riverfront alcohol beverage license program, a mechanism included in the city’s 2008 program language but never implemented.
Scott York, director of redevelopment, told the council this is not a new concept but a formalization of an existing application requirement: special riverfront licenses carry a fee that, once collected, would be placed in a restricted, non‑reverting fund for downtown promotion, beautification, and small matching grants for public‑realm improvements. York said only licenses granted within the municipal riverfront liquor license district — not licenses bought on the open market — would be subject to the fee.
York said there are currently 12 active riverfront liquor licenses; that level of participation would generate an estimated $30,000 annually under the proposed $2,500 yearly fee. He emphasized the city does not intend to begin collecting until July 1, 2027, to avoid burdening businesses during the current summer season.
Public comment included requests that the city consider fee collection for outdoor dining or sidewalk encroachments that currently provide businesses with valuable public space. "I don't think we're getting anything for that — we keep giving the store away for free," one resident said of outdoor dining occupying sidewalk area.
Council members asked about outreach to license holders and clarification of the geographic boundary for collection; York said staff will send notification letters to the 12 licensees after adoption and offered to return with a refined ordinance amendment to clarify the municipal riverfront boundary language.
What happens next: The ordinance was carried forward to second reading and staff said they will send written notice to current license holders and propose refined boundary language for council review.
