Ald. Julie Kerr, District 13, met with a subcommittee of the Alcohol License Review Committee to discuss her proposal to extend the Alcohol License Density Ordinance boundary.
The proposed boundary line would extend west down Regent Street and south down Park Street within Kerr's aldermanic district.
ALDO limits the number of alcohol licenses granted to bars and restaurants around the Downtown area. Kerr wants to have similar limits in her district.
""I want to see Regent and Park Streets evolve into something more than it is now,"" Kerr said.
Committee member Pamela Bean said the majority of the committee is open to support Kerr's request for expansion.
Committee member Chet Gerlach said he is ""inclined to support Kerr's proposal."" He said he would like to see what ALDO looks like with these proposed boundary extensions.
UW-Madison student and committee member Mark Woulf said he would need more information to decide whether or not he is in support of the proposal.
""I want to see how these blocks are dense compared to other zones in Madison,"" Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4, said. ""The area needs to be clearly saturated [with alcohol-licensed properties].""
Rick Petri, Business Improvement District member and attorney, said he was disinclined to consider altering the boundaries.
""Make sure the current [boundaries] work before worrying about expanding boundaries,"" Petri said.
BID Executive Director Mary Carbine said the committee should look into the amount of entertainment and hours of operation an alcohol-licensed business to figure out if the property is considered an entertainment establishment, in comparison to only looking at the percentage of alcohol sales.
The subcommittee will meet again on Nov. 8 to further discuss these issues.
