S.L. leaders seeking liquor reform

Even as they look to loosen liquor laws and stir life into the capital's downtown, Salt Lake City leaders won't be asking state lawmakers for help removing potential stumbling blocks to Mayor Ralph Becker's promised booze reform.

"I can unequivocally say it is not part of the city's agenda," David Everitt, Becker's chief of staff, said Wednesday — the same day the first of two ordinances aimed at reworking Salt Lake's alcohol restrictions was handed to the City Council. "We're working on our own house."

The ordinance would potentially lift the spacing restriction of two bars per block face downtown, an area generally bordered by North Temple, 200 East, 950 South and 500 West. The change would also remove limitations on the number of brew pubs and microbreweries per major street.

But while a pair of state laws that limit the number of liquor licenses and restrict alcohol sales within 200 feet of churches and schools — even if there is no opposition — could impede their efforts, Everitt said Salt Lake City leaders won't be pushing for change on Capitol Hill during the legislative session.

"We're not in that business right now," he said.

Becker and others simply want to "remove barriers" for downtown business owners, spokeswoman Lisa Harrison-Smith said.

"This is not to propel" changes on the state level, she said.

The state currently doles out liquor licenses based on monthly population estimates, and some fear a shortage of licenses could hinder downtown's success.

But Becker's administration is in no rush to see its proposal passed.

"There's no sense of urgency driving this other than it's a good change to make," Everitt said. "This kind of change is for the long term."

City leaders aren't looking for a "Bourbon Street effect" downtown, but Everitt said he expects some areas to see an "organic" boost in bars and taverns.

City planners have no interest in defining an entertainment district, he said.

"The point isn't to put the temple on one side and bars on the other and never the twain shall meet," Everitt said. "The goal is everybody should feel comfortable on Main Street and in the greater downtown area."

The City Council is expected to begin considering downtown alcohol changes by the end of the year. Next month, Everitt said, the city likely will present the Planning Commission with the second half of Becker's liquor reform — an ordinance that would remove the city's alcohol map, clearing the way for bars and taverns in "more commercially mature" neighborhoods such as 9th and 9th, 15th and 15th, North Temple and Sugar House.

Local pubs would likely come with a number of conditional-use restrictions and, Everitt said, would be not be allowed in neighborhoods, such as the Avenues, where only small patches of commercial property may now exist.

And while city officials said they won't be pushing for more liquor reform on Capitol Hill come January, Everitt said he doesn't anticipate state lawmakers interfering with the city's efforts.

"It's always a potential thing," he said. "We are comfortable moving forward with this."

e-mail: afalk@desnews.com