City officials want to dry up downtown, and they're proposing changes to Charleston's alcohol laws in order to do so.
A bill that would amend the city's zoning ordinances so that bars, nightclubs and liquor stores would have to apply for conditional-use permits to sell alcohol for off-premise consumption in the central business district is set to be introduced at tonight's City Council meeting.
"We've had it in place downtown already for a long time with the bars," Dan Vriendt, planning director, said. "And I think in the downtown we've had problems with certain bars in the past. And we've also had some issues with public intoxication."
That area of downtown is bordered by the Kanawha and Elk rivers, Washington Street West, Leon Sullivan Way and on toward Smith Street.
Those businesses that already sell alcohol to consume elsewhere will be grandfathered in, Vriendt said.
Currently, the city creates conditional-use permits for bars that are in its urban renewal districts, which requires bars to fill out an application and appear in front of the Board of Zoning Appeals.
There are also similar requirements in some of the city's zoning districts.
That could also be applied to the downtown area if the bill passes.
The Planning Department signs off on permits that have the go ahead from the state Alcohol Beverage Control Administration, but it will revoke city permits if the bar has an issue.
Councilwoman Mary Jean Davis, a sponsor of the bill, believes the city needs to address individuals who buy alcohol downtown and take it into the streets.
"We're trying to find a way to prevent the sale of those larger bottles for consumption downtown," Davis said.
The Strong Neighborhoods Task Force - a panel on which Davis sits - discussed in January addressing the city's problematic bars, particularly on the West Side in residential areas. No city legislation came out of that meeting.
Also in the bill is a set of regulations that allows the city's Board of Zoning Appeals to review those permits and revoke them if necessary. The BZA can revoke any conditional-use permit if the permit holder is found to be violating its stipulations.
The BZA will have the authority to review a permit for alcohol off-site consumption sales if the business "does not cause or significantly contribute to a nuisance or hazard to the area," the bill states.
The bill also states establishments can be deemed nuisances by the Charleston Police Department or the City Manager. If that's the case, the BZA can call the permit holder to a hearing to review its permit.
Having these regulations in the city's zoning ordinances gives business owners know in advance, "If the city's having a problem with you, there's process to having that conditional use permit revoked," Vriendt said.
The zoning amendment targets downtown specifically because of frequent issues reported to city officials that relate to public intoxication. Councilman Archie Chestnut, one of three sponsors of the bill, said he receives daily complaints about people buying alcohol "and taking it out and drinking it on the sidewalks and in the storefronts and leaving the cans and bottles."
"It's getting bad, so we just have to try to control it," Chestnut said.
Vriendt was more specific and said it's hoped the bill "lets us take a look ... so we don't have an overabundance of people selling 40s to go."
"We're hoping that over time it'll help reduce some of the things like open containers in Slack Plaza," Vriendt said.
Councilwoman Mary Beth Hoover, another sponsor of the bill, could not be reached for comment.
The bill will be introduced at tonight's City Council meeting, which starts at 7 at City Hall.
Reach Rachel Molenda at rachel.molenda@wvgazette.com, 304-348-5102 or follow @rachelmolenda on Twitter.