Alcohol Debate Comes to a Head: Tonight's Campbell Agenda

Tonight's Campbell City Council meeting marks the conclusion of the , with a vote and final decision on whether to , put in place in 2009, alone or to .

The regularly scheduled meeting begins at 7:30 p.m. and takes place in the council chambers at Campbell City Hall.

But before the debate can begin, the council has a few items on the consent calendar:

• Commending Joanne D’Ambrosia for 20 years of service upon her retirement
• Text Amendment banning smoke in outdoor dining areas, including a 20-foot buffer as well as public parks.

The debate over the downtown alcohol beverage policy has been a pasionate one, from all sides:

• Residents are fed up of the late night/early morning noise, the vandalism and violence
• Police have said the downtown area is nearing a saturation point and makes up about nine percent of all service calls in the city a year
• Downtown establishments says they're doing the best they can, and are willing to work with police and the city but that the downtown is simply more lively when the sun sets.

Here is a breakdown of what the Downtown Alcohol Beverage Policy looks like, and amendments being proposed:

The current policy:

• Strongly discourages new, stand-alone bars, nightclubs and lounges.
• Establishes midnight as the latest closing time for new restaurants that serve alcohol.
• Requires restaurants to provide food service with alcohol service.
• Places restrictions on live entertainment. 
• Limits bar seating in restaurants to 25 percent of total seating.
• The policy applies to applications for new establishment and to existing establishments that apply to intensify or expand their late night service.

The proposed amendments to the policy include:

• Stand-alone bars/nightclubs to remain strongly discouraged (no change with current policy).
• Provide an exemption to wine tasting/bars that close at 11 p.m. 
• Allow existing late-night alcohol establishments to be considered for expansion, subject to particular findings that the restaurant is in good standing and that expansion will not have a material detrimental effect on health, safety and welfare of the downtown and surrounding neighborhoods.
• Allow restaurants to stay open until midnight (already allowed, with planning commission, but on the table to be consistent, rather than have closures between 11 p.m. and midnight).
• Modify boundaries of policy to exclude Winchester Boulevard and East Campbell Avenue plan areas from the definition of “downtown.” 

On the Campbell Patch facebook page, the alcohol policy debate continues. Here is what we asked and the responses we received:

Tomorrow is the big day, Campbell. There's been a lot of debate on the subject. The proposed amendments to the alcohol policy go before the council for a vote. Do you think the current policy should be amended or should it stay the same?

How do you feel about the issue? Tell us in the comments or vote.