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The Badger Herald

The Student News Site of University of Wisconsin-Madison

The Badger Herald

The Student News Site of University of Wisconsin-Madison

The Badger Herald

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ALRC approves Performing Arts Venues License

[media-credit name=’BRYAN FAUST/Herald photo’ align=’alignright’ width=’336′]churchkey_bf_416[/media-credit]The Alcohol License Review Committee made the first approval Wednesday night on the city’s up-and-coming Performing Arts Venue License, which would allow 18-year-olds into bars providing live music performances or entertainment. The ordinance will be voted on by the City Council in the next few weeks.

The PAV license, applied for in addition to a liquor license, requires alcohol-serving establishments to provide operational standards to deal with the underage crowd before opening their doors to patrons. Standards include how to distinguish underage patrons from the of-age crowd, as well as how to control the distribution of alcohol in the establishment.

This license could be bought by establishments on a yearly basis or for individual days throughout the year.

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Committee member and proponent for the ordinance Stephanie Rearick said the approval of the ordinance would act as an alternative to house parties for underage students.

“This would increase the diversity of entertainment options for underage people,” Rearick said.

Ald. Austin King, District 8, said he agrees with Rearick and added the license could also help local taverns with business.

“It would provide more business for local bars, and not alcohol business,” King said. “It will also help lower house-party numbers because it provides underage students with a night life while supporting local music.”

King added the change would cut down on the fake-ID industry in Madison because students looking for live entertainment will not require false identification to gain entry.

Committee members voiced concerns about how tightly controlled the bar environments would have to be, but Rearick refuted the arguments, saying each bar wishing to allow underage clients to attend live-music events must pass an approval process with the city and notify the police before the event.

Capt. Jay Lengfeld of the Madison Police Department said he was also in favor of the change, but with limitations.

“It could potentially take a lot of police resources, but it’s new, so from the department’s point of view … we should start small, work out the bugs and expand from that,” Lengfeld said.

Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4, said the change would be a great chance for 18- to 21-year-olds in Madison.

“It’s tragic that people 18 to 21 are shut out of the music scene,” he said. “This will hopefully encourage and allow students to enjoy the wonderful performances taking place in our community.”

After discussing ordinance language and definitions, the ordinance was unanimously passed, with conditions including that the bar capacity must be 100 patrons to apply for a license and the performers must receive payment for their show.

In lieu of the downtown bar scene, the ALRC also granted a request to expand the Church Key Bar onto the first floor of the building. The expansion is contingent on lowering the capacity to 190 patrons, despite a request from bar owner Jongyean Lee to have a 256-patron capacity.

Committee members stressed concern about the increased capacity on the already crowded 600 block of University Avenue on weekends, where enforcement is often required.

“Our concern is the increased capacity. … The back exit is good, but we’d be interested in bringing the capacity down even lower,” Lengfeld said.

ALRC members also approved renovations in architecture, including new sprinklers and a new exit.

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