Lawrence city commissioners on Tuesday will vote on a resolution that would allow some small downtown establishments to derive up to 90% of their sales from liquor for the next few years.
It stems from a request from John Brown’s Underground designed to skirt a long-standing city rule that requires many downtown establishments with liquor licenses to derive no more than 45% of their sales from liquor — the rest must come from food. The ordinance was originally passed to prevent downtown from becoming a problematic bar district.
But during the COVID-19 pandemic, many smaller downtown businesses “struggled and continue to struggle to comply with the 45% cap,” according to the commission agenda item. Commissioners during their Nov. 15 meeting requested that city staff bring back a broader way to help businesses that are in the same bind.
The resolution in the city commission’s agenda would suspend enforcement of the sales quota for downtown businesses that are 3,000 square feet or smaller and possess valid city and state liquor licenses. Read the full agenda item and resolution at this link.
A committee is currently reviewing the city’s entire land development code — a review process Mayor Lisa Larsen hopes to see completed by the end of 2023. As part of the work, that committee is expected to revise the current ordinance governing downtown alcohol sales. If approved, the resolution would halt enforcement of the alcohol sales ordinance through Dec. 31, 2025, or when the updated land development code is passed — whichever comes sooner.
The resolution is on the commission’s consent agenda — a list of items that are considered routine and generally passed with one motion, unless a commissioner or member of the public asks to pull an item for discussion.
The Lawrence City Commission meeting is set to begin at 5:45 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 20 at City Hall, 6 E. Sixth St. See the full agenda at this link. Meetings are also livestreamed on the city’s YouTube channel.
The commission accepts public comments in writing — comments must be received by noon the day of the meeting at ccagendas@lawrenceks.org — and during meetings in person and virtually. Register to join the Zoom meeting at this link.
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Mackenzie Clark (she/her), reporter/founder of The Lawrence Times, can be reached at mclark (at) lawrencekstimes (dot) com. Read more of her work for the Times here. Check out her staff bio here.
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