OLYMPIA — The Washington state Liquor Control Board is considering changes to rules for alcohol impact areas where sales of cheap, high-alcohol beverages are banned to reduce public drunkenness and litter.
At a work session Wednesday in Olympia, the Washington Beer and Wine Distributors Association asked the board for better information and stricter guidelines before an impact area is declared in a city, The Olympian reported Wednesday.
Also, a representative of the city of Olympia asked the board for permission to expand the list of banned beverages without going through the process of asking the board. The city is currently asking the board to ban 64 specific brands in its impact area. Olympia’s ban went into effect in February 2014 for nine brands.
Seattle, Tacoma and Spokane also have alcohol impact areas.
The association for alcohol wholesalers wants more documentation, such as crime data, to evaluate how the areas are working, said Scott Hazlegrove, executive director.
Hazlegrove questioned the effectiveness of the areas. Current rules “leave a lot of room for interpretation” and have a negative impact on distributors, he said.
Olympia has credited the impact area for a 20 percent reduction in alcohol-related litter in the downtown core, said Brian Wilson, downtown liaison. The city wants to expand the ban to include more labels of cheap, high-alcohol beverages.
“It’s been consistent through our litter surveys that the products we find the most are also the cheapest,” Wilson said.
Board member Chris Marr said the ban process is meant to be tedious because “we’re taking something away from businesses” by limiting which beverages can be sold.
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