After more than two years in process by the City of Portland , the first formal petition under OLCC rules will be going before the Liquor Commission to create an Alcohol Impact Area (AIA) in the St. Johns neighborhood of Portland . The St. Johns Neighborhood Association (SJNA), in spite of considerable opposition from a majority of St. Johns businesses and many residents, received a vote of approval to go forward from the Portland City Council.

The next step will be for the OLCC to review the petition to determine if the City has met the requirements of the rule. ONSA opposed the initiative at the City Council hearing and will continue to oppose the proposed rulemaking at OLCC. It is our belief that voluntary measures taken by Off-Premise licensees in St. Johns have had a favorable impact on the livability issues raised by SJNA. Furthermore, it is our belief the City of Portland has failed to meet several of the approval criteria required for the OLCC to proceed to the rulemaking creating an alcohol impact area.

This initiative has far-reaching implications well beyond any ONSA members in St. Johns . Several other neighborhood associations in Portland have expressed an interest in having an AIA designation for their neighborhood. In meetings at OLCC, other municipalities have expressed interest in re-writing the rule to apply to cities smaller than Portland , and to make the rule less cumbersome for proponents of AIAs to meet the requirements of the rule.

If the City of Portland is successful in complying with the initial criteria to proceed to actual rulemaking, ONSA will also be involved in the debate over proposed restrictions anticipated for Licensees. The fundamental question at issue is whether product restrictions on alcohol content and container size are really effective in addressing problems associated with Chronic Public Inebriation. Should product restrictions apply only to Off-Premise Licensees, with no restrictions on On-Premise Licensees who over-serve, and no restrictions on OLCC Liquor Stores within AIAs?

St. Johns is an interesting “test-case”, in that three-quarters of the street-drinking and detox incidents do not involve the stereotypical homeless transient street drinker; i.e. the majority of the public drinking incidents are from people who actually reside in St. Johns . So the additional question is that if a Licensee makes a perfectly legal sale to an of-age, sober customer who lives in the neighborhood, and the customer subsequently engages in street-drinking, should only the Off-Premise licensee be held responsible?

These questions and more will be addressed and answered in the coming months, and the resultant outcome promises to have far-reaching consequences for all ONSA members.