Following months of debate and public hearings, the Madison City Council plans to vote tonight on a proposal to ban most new liquor licenses in the downtown area.
The Alcohol Density Plan, which was introduced by the Alcohol License Review Committee in 2006, would limit new liquor licenses in downtown Madison between Blair and Park Streets as part of a gradual reduction of downtown bars. If the plan passes, prospective bar owners would be able to obtain a liquor license for a building only if a tavern had been operating there within the last year.
However, the plan makes exemptions for restaurants generating 50 percent or more of their revenue on food, including supermarkets, hotels, movie theaters and performing arts venues like the Fluno Center.
Supporters of the measure, including Mayor Dave Cieslewicz and the Madison Police Department, are hoping a cutback in downtown liquor licenses will ease alcohol-related crime that has spiked in the previous year.
Ald. Mike Verveer, City Council president and co-sponsor of the plan, believes the proliferation of bars in Madison's central commercial district bears a direct correlation to the spike in crime.
"Most of my career I wouldn't be caught dead supporting this," Verveer said, adding that he had resisted proposals for liquor license quotas in the past. But he said last year's unprecedented rise in violence — including muggings, sexual assaults and batteries — during the late night hours changed his mind.
"I don't think anyone can say with a straight face that there aren't enough places to get a drink downtown," said Verveer, whose downtown district includes a high percentage of UW students. "I don't see a demand for new bars in Madison that can't be met by those we currently have."
Verveer said the demographics of the downtown have also changed drastically over the course of his tenure on the City Council. Whereas in the past the downtown was heavily populated by students, Verveer has seen a shift toward older residents who have complained of bar time noise and vandalism.
In addition, the MPD has reported its resources are being stretched too thin as it tries to deal with crime surrounding the high concentration of downtown bars.
But not everyone is embracing the plan with open arms. Opponents of the plan argue the number of bars will only make existing bars more crowded, forcing patrons to drink elsewhere.
"It would only take away opportunities for new bars and owners," said Ald. Jed Sanborn, District 9, who plans to vote against the ordinance. "Downtown customers will have fewer options and overcrowded conditions to contend with."
Some fear the plan will simply push bars out of the proposed zone and into residential areas, encouraging students to move their drinking to unsafe house parties.
Verveer disagrees.
"The City Council and the Alcohol License Review Committee continue to have the final say about where bars can be located, and if people are living and working adjacent to that location, a license is not granted," Verveer said.
As for house parties, Verveer said he considers them a mainstay of campus life — and, for the most part, benign.
"Whether this plan is in effect or not, there will be house parties," Verveer said. "And these are usually only dangerous when they involve underage drinkers, who can't get into bars anyway."
