Rocky asks church to back liquor-law waiver

Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson Friday asked an LDS Church official if the church would acquiesce to a proposed change in Utah liquor laws that would pave the way for a charter school to stay open downtown.

Anderson met with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Presiding Bishop H. David Burton and requested that the church consent to legislation that would allow for a waiver of a state law that forbids bars and private clubs from opening within 600 feet of a school.

If the church didn't oppose the measure "it would pass in a heart beat," Anderson said.

Bishop Burton was unaware of the issue and said he would look into it, Anderson said.

Sen. Karen Hale, D-Salt Lake, was trying to help the Salt Lake Arts Academy find a permanent home downtown when she put together a proposed bill that would have allowed charter schools to open near establishments that serve alcohol.

After circulating her proposal — which was never formally introduced this session — Hale said she decided to abandon it.

Hale said she did not hear directly from representatives of the LDS Church but "I had heard that the church had some concerns. Also MADD had met with me. They had some concerns. Other legislators had some concerns about it," she said.

She said she was also advised by some of her colleagues that getting liquor-related legislation approved was tough.

"I talked to legislators who had experience in that area, and they had made it clear that there would be no bill passed that dealt with liquor laws," Hale said. Also, she said, a number of "legitimate concerns" were raised.

Hale currently has no plans to run the legislation, and she's hoping to find a solution to the school's problem outside the legislative process. "The city has been very open to working with the arts academy, too," she said. "They see the benefits of having a school down there."

The academy is currently housed in the city's old main library but will have to move when the building is renovated for The Leonardo at Library Square. Part of the academy's mission is to be in an urban setting, Hale said.

City leaders, however, don't want the academy to move into another area of downtown because that may stifle economic development by forbidding new private clubs from opening within 600 feet of the school.

Anderson wants Hale's legislation to pass because it would allow a waiver of the 600-foot rule if the school, the City Council and the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control signed off.

"We ought to allow an exception to the general rule if it's recommended by the City Council and the DABC," he said.

"It ought to at least see the light of day at the Legislature instead of getting deep-sixed."

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