Campbell at a Crossroads: Sept. 6th Council Study Session on Alcohol

Mark your calendars Campbell residents... because Tuesday, Sept. 6 could be the date we recognize the end of Campbell's small town feel.

The city council will hold a second study session starting at 6:00 p.m. in the council chambers at city hall to consider whether or not to revise the city's Downtown Alcohol Beverage Policy. In prior , I wrote about the  during which local residents expressed strong opposition to changing the policy.  

Subsequently, the council's Downtown Sub-Committee comprised of Mayor Jason Baker and Council member Rich Waterman met to try and refine the scope of changes to the policy. During the course of that public meeting, several members of the public including residents, businesses and former council members voiced continuing concerns over the proposed changes to the policy.

Ultimately, the sub-committee made the following recommendation for the full council to consider at the Sept. 6 study session:

1. Maintain discouraging new stand alone bars but only in the downtown core (thereby permitting new bars along S. Winchester and E. Campbell between Railway Ave. and the )
2. Extending operations of restaurants with bars from 11:00 p.m. to 12:00 a.m.
3. Loosening the restrictions on dance and live music in restaurants
4. Removing S. Winchester and E. Campbell from the protection of the policy altogether
5. Clarifying the wine tasting or beer tasting establishments are permitted under the current policy
6. Explore a police services impact fee upon new applications
7. Allowing existing bars (including those that operate until 2:00 a.m.) to expand their operations if certain findings are met

There are two fundamental flaws with the recommendation.

First, it essentially says to residents who live along S. Winchester and E. Campbell that your quality of life and property values do not matter. Instead, the incentive for development to attract new bars, restaurants, ultra-lounges and the like are more important than you and your families.

Second, it ignores the magnitude of the existing problem due to the over-concentration of bars in the downtown area. I decided to check-out the "vibrant" downtown bar scene for myself on Friday, August 19th from 11:00 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. What I saw was consistent with the experience and public testimony of downtown residents namely:

• Loud music heard from blocks away because bars keep their doors open
• Long cues of patrons waiting outside...basically starting the party outside
• Males urinating in nearby spots
• A surprising number of taxi cabs dropping off people from other cities/places
• A constant flow of patrons bar hopping between , , and

What I saw reaffirmed why the Downtown Alcohol Beverage Policy was created in the first place... it allows existing businesses to serve a market for late night entertainment while placing controls and parameters on future operation or expansion. Changing the policy as recommended by the Council Sub-Committee will open the flood gates for the next Cardiff, Katie Blooms, Spot and Khartoum along S. Winchester and E. Campbell.

If you care about Campbell and its future, I strongly encourage you to attend the Sept. 6 council study session at 6:00 p.m. and express your concerns directly to the people elected to look out for your interests.

Campbell City Hall is located at 70 N. First Street

Joe Hernandez also blogs at: http://www.campbellfirst.tumblr.com on issues of importance to Campbell

The opinions expressed here are the blogger's and not necessarily those of the local editor's or anyone affiliated with Patch.