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City chews on bar limit

JEFF SCHORFHEIDE/Herald photo

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by Courtney Johnson

Friday, January 26, 2007

The downtown bar ban debate continued at the Concourse Hotel Thursday as Madison community members met to discuss the plan's impact on the city.

However, the meeting was only a question and answer session with city officials, and the Alcohol Density Plan remains intact and in the hands of the City Council who will vote on a final version later this year.

The plan would restrict the number of new liquor licenses issued in the downtown area in an attempt to increase downtown safety after a recent string of assaults and muggings.

Hosted by Capitol Neighborhoods, Inc., the meeting outlined the plan and emphasized steps citizens could take to increase safety in their neighborhoods.

Community members were given the opportunity to pose questions about the ban to Central District Police Captain Mary Schauf, Alcohol Policy Coordinator Joel Plant and Assistant City Attorney Jennifer Zilavy.

"We look at the density of licenses," Plant said. "We know that a high density of licenses necessarily means a higher density, or a higher likelihood … of alcohol-related problems."

Although the plan is intended to not affect any existing liquor stores or bars, local business owners still voiced concerns about the effect the proposal would have on entrepreneurs and the general Madison community.

Namely, concerns were raised about whether this proposal would prevent law-abiding business owners from opening new establishments and whether preventing these businesses from opening would push people into unlicensed house parties.

"We're going to have, let's say, 5,000 people at 120 establishments right now," one local businessman said. "Through this attrition that's promoted in this plan, we'll have 5,000 people poured into 100 or 90 or 80 establishments — now, for me, that's a real density problem."

But Plant stressed that, while these concerns are valid, the proposal is not set in stone.

"A vote isn't expected for quite a while," Plant said. "By no means is this a done deal."

Questions arose at the meeting about why the plan was not included in Mayor Dave Cieslewicz's downtown safety proposal that was outlined Tuesday.

The $100,000 safety plan includes wireless surveillance cameras in problem areas and an increase in police presence on city streets.

"While the two things may work well together, the density plan was already in process and moving its way through city government," Schauf said. "It's kind of taking it's own separate way as far as ordinance legislation would be considered."

City officials also stressed that while this proposal came following a string of high-profile assaults in the downtown and campus area, it does not necessarily mean the density plan is a reaction to a specific event.

"The notion of a density plan has been in the works for about a year now," Plant said. "So the issues related to King Street over this past summer, the issues on State Street historically — this is not a knee-jerk reaction to any one individual issue or group of issues."

During the meeting, Schauf presented maps showing the density of batteries and other assaults.

The maps showed that the highest densities of disturbances were located on State Street and King Street.

The alcohol density proposal is expected to go to another Common Council meeting before coming to a final vote early this year.

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