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Editorial: Neighbors will weigh impact of beer gardens

Thu., July 10, 2014

The city of Spokane is taking it to the streets. Drive carefully.

Last month, the city worked out an agreement with food truck owners intended to give them easier and cheaper access to sidewalk patrons. The city, like others around the country, regards the trucks as amenities that add energy to urban life.

To add more juice, the city has also launched a pilot project that will allow beer gardens on city rights of way: the streets. If this sounds like a municipality looking for trouble, well, this will be a very sober experiment.

Groups that can obtain a special events permit from the city and a state Liquor Control Board permit will be able to serve beer and wine in “gardens” enclosed by four-foot high fences, with every entrance monitored by two uniformed security guards. Fence, chairs, tables and everything else must be quickly removable should emergency vehicles need to pass.

No more than 50 can be inside the fence. All must wear wristbands or other clearly visible identification. Last call will be early: the gardens must close by 10 p.m.

The gardens can be located in any part of the city, although Jan Quintrall, city director of business and development services, says a proposed event near a school, for example, might get extra scrutiny.

Quintrall says the decision to allow beer gardens came in response to requests from organizers of events like Oktoberfest. Instead of just saying no, city officials looked for ways to be accommodating and invest more in neighborhoods.

The first event to include a beer garden was the Terrain Spokane craft fair on North Wall Street in May. Quintrall, who attended the fair, said the garden and the vendors appeared to be doing well, but she has not yet debriefed organizer Luke Baumgarten about how well it worked out from his perspective.

Baumgarten told The Spokesman-Review he is pleased the city is reassessing its approach to beer and wine sales; better regulation than prohibition.

Quintrall says applications will have to be reviewed by her office, the Spokane Transit Authority, Downtown Spokane Partnership and the fire and police departments. She expects no more than 20 during the one-year trial period. With this late start, the stiff guidelines and the requirement that applications be submitted 30 days in advance, that may be about right. These will not be spontaneous gatherings on a hot summer night.

Ultimately, it will be the neighborhoods – including downtown – that will decide whether gardens are an accommodation or a nuisance. One or two fistfights alfresco, and it will be closing time.