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Articles
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| H Street Moratorium Finalized |
admin writes, "H Street Moratorium Finalized
Storeowners have until Oct. 1 to comply
BY BEN WEINSTEIN
The Alcohol Beverage Control Board Aug. 15 finalized a temporary single-servings ban for H Street liquor stores. Storeowners will have until Oct. 1 to come into compliance with the new regulations.
The three-year moratorium, approved by the D.C. Council last month, affects stores from the 700 to the 1400 blocks of H Street, NE. Under the ban, stores cannot sell single cans or bottles of beer, malt liquor or ale, or spirits in containers half a pint and smaller.
"The Board found merit in ANC 6A's reasoning for requesting a moratorium on the sale of singles, which included improving the quality of life of ANC 6A residents," the alcohol board states in its rulemaking, adding that single sales on the corridor contribute to litter, public intoxication and loitering.
The alcohol board looked to Mount Pleasant's experience under a single-sales moratorium, noting that during the ban's first four years the neighborhood had a 41-percent drop in total calls for police service and a 51-percent drop in calls for disorderly conduct. A Mount Pleasant community group told the alcohol board that it has also seen less public drinking and fewer littered bottles and cans since the moratorium took effect."
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The alcohol board said it also took into account testimony saying the ban would help facilitate ongoing economic revitalization on the corridor.
The Northeast neighborhood commission requested the moratorium in September 2006, but not before trying other remedies, commissioner Mary Beatty said after council approved the measure. She added that the moratorium was the final tool used in a four-year-long fight against singles -- the neighborhood commission first tried voluntary agreements with store owners, then tried opposing license renewals.
The other measures failed as means of negotiation because store owners worried their businesses would suffer if they stopped selling singles and neighboring stores did not.
Opponents of the ban told the alcohol board that the businesses rely heavily on single sales and may not survive without that option. But the board was more convinced by testimony claiming Mount Pleasant liquor stores adapted and learned to cater to different consumers.
Seven class A and B liquor stores fall within the H Street Moratorium Zone: Family Liquors, 710 H St.; Jumbo Liquors, 1122 H St.; 1101 Convenience Mart, 1101 H St.; Me & My Super Market, 1111 H St.; Northeast Beverage, 1344 H St.; Sun And Moon Grocery, 1387 H St.; and Friends Liquors, 1406 H St.
An Alcoholic Beverage Regulation Administration spokeswoman said the rule is scheduled for publication in the Aug. 24 D.C. Register. The moratorium officially takes effect five days later, but the regulatory agency will give storeowners just longer than one month to adjust their inventory.
The Near Northeast advisory neighborhood commission (ANC 6C) also plans to request a ban covering its side of the H Street corridor, which commissioners said has the same problems as the eastern side.
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Posted on Aug 27, 2007 15:07pm.
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