Following few changes to the ordinance's wording, the controversial Alcohol License Density Plan received approval from the Downtown Coordinating Committee Thursday evening in a 7-5 vote. The current proposal would limit the amount of new liquor licenses available in downtown Madison. Under the proposal, new potential bar owners would be unable to receive a liquor license within the downtown area, unless a bar has occupied the location within the last 120 days. The proposed ordinance will now head to the Public Safety Review Board, the Business Improvement Committee and the ALRC for approval before going on to the City Council. The proposal says the ordinance is intended to "maintain or gradually reduce" the number of certain types of liquor licenses downtown. The four police sectors the ordinance targets currently contain 27 percent of all liquor licenses in Madison, which, the ordinance says, is linked to the "high volume of alcohol-related problems" in the area. "I think what this is doing is making a statement and beginning a process that's part of the culture change of downtown Madison," said Patrick McDonnell, a Madison resident who sits on the DCC and voted in favor of the proposal. "I think it's appropriate for a community to set some limits like this." However, some members of the committee had concerns about the effects of a density plan. Thomas Miller, a Madison resident and member of the DCC who voted against the proposal, said this proposal could have unintended negative effects on the city, such as discouraging new responsible businesses from opening. Miller was also concerned the proposal would not do anything to improve safety downtown, and that there are no standards in place within the ordinance that could be used to judge its success. "I, as a downtown resident, understand there is a problem to be addressed, and I live two blocks from King Street — I know what's going on," Miller said. "There are tools [already] in place to directly focus on problematic applications and problematic business owners without impacting the potential for bringing in positive new business owners." Miller also said he does not think this proposal would help in eliminating problem bars from the downtown area. "If this ordinance were in place, and there were gunshots outside the Majestic, this ordinance would do nothing to prevent that, to aid that situation," Miller added. Local bar and restaurant owner Hawk Schenkel, who owns Hawk's Bar and Grill on State Street, also attended the meeting to speak in opposition to the alcohol density plan. Schenkel said he understands the city's desire to make Madison a safe environment, but does not believe this proposal would accomplish that. He also believes the Alcohol License Review Committee already has the ability to regulate the number of alcohol licenses downtown, and does not understand why this ordinance is necessary. "I'm all for jumping through hoops to get a liquor license — you shouldn't just hand them out to anybody," Schenkel said. "We all know … which bars are the problem bars downtown, and there's only a couple of them — two, three or four of them — that really have serious problems consistently over the years, and so those are the ones that should be gone after." City Council President Mike Verveer, District 4, who sits on the DCC and voted in favor of the plan, said he is pleased the proposal passed with the new revisions, such as an annual review of the plan's effectiveness. Verveer said he is also happy about the plan's "exceptional circumstance" provision, which would allow unique businesses such as Laundry 101 or Majestic Theater to secure liquor licenses.