Bill allowing 'social districts' in NH communities awaits governor's signature
A bill on Gov. Kelly Ayotte's desk awaiting her signature is creating quite a buzz around the state.
HB467 would allow cities and towns in New Hampshire to establish 'social districts' — areas where people are allowed to purchase alcohol at local bars and restaurants, then take it with them in a to-go cup while moving through designated 'sip and stroll' areas.
State Rep. Bill Boyd, R-Merrimack, told members of the state Senate Commerce Committee he modeled HB 467 after legislation in North Carolina, working closely with Chief Mark Armaganian, director of the New Hampshire Liquor Commission's Division of Enforcement and Licensing.
'It's a local-option bill,' Boyd said. 'Should this be enacted, if communities want to have a social district, they can do so, and they can work with liquor enforcement and their local law enforcement to create a plan that makes the best sense for that community.'
Voters would have to approve creation of a social district at town meeting or a city election.
Local officials would determine the boundaries of the social district, then work with the liquor commission and the state to be able to make sure that all requirements under state law are met and develop a working plan to ensure safety in the district.
Brodie Deshaies, a legislative advocate with the New Hampshire Municipal Association, said the association supports the bill.
'We've had members reach out in the past and contact us about how they could set up a process like this,' Deshaies said. 'There was nothing that currently permitted towns to adopt these types of districts or to allow people to carry open containers between businesses that are all in close vicinity of each other.
'We view this as a great private/public partnership, and the state helping fulfill its role to help create guidelines — or guardrails — along that process.'
Gauging interest
It's unclear how interested businesses in places like Manchester are in establishing social districts — at least at this time. Owners of several downtown businesses along Elm Street seemed indifferent about the concept when quizzed this past week.
Jodie Nazaka, Manchester's economic development director, said her department doesn't have a position either for or against HB 467.
'I haven't had any businesses or aldermen express interest in establishing this type of district in Manchester,' Nazaka said in an email. 'If there were general interest from business owners in the downtown area, we would certainly look into the merits of the concept.'
Nazaka said she has seen social districts successfully implemented in other areas of the country, including Raleigh, North Carolina, which she experienced last summer.
'There are definitely rules and restrictions associated with these districts, so they're not as unrestricted as some might imagine, like Bourbon Street in New Orleans or the Las Vegas Strip,' Nazaka said. 'I'm interested in seeing where this conversation may lead. For now, at least to my knowledge, there isn't much interest in pursuing this in Manchester.'
Boyd said communities like Raleigh and Savannah, Georgia, have had 'tremendous success' with social districts.
'There's so many different types of social districts that exist now today, in Georgia and North Carolina and Michigan, the creativity as to what can happen as a result of this particular concept can only benefit the economic development of a particular community that seeks to create it,' Boyd said.
Boyd said Tuscan Village in Salem has its own social district, which operates on private property, but they worked closely with Armaganian and the liquor enforcement team to come up with something that makes sense for the site.
'Government-sponsored drinking'
Not everyone loves the idea of social districts.
Bob Bevill of Merrimack, a justice of the peace in Hillsborough County, submitted testimony via email opposing the bill, calling it 'government-sponsored 'pub-crawling'' that will create an enforcement burden on towns, could increase liability premiums for some businesses, and provides 'absolutely no benefit to the taxpayers.'
'Based on similar legislation from North Carolina, these 'zones' would allow for specially-marked alcoholic beverage cups to be transported out of the bars and restaurants' where people 'may freely walk from place to place carrying their alcoholic beverages in public,' Bevill writes. 'These cups would be 'containers (that) clearly displays a logo or some other mark that is unique to the social district in which it will be consumed.' Hence, government-sponsored drinking.'
Bevill asked who would be responsible for determining if a customer has been overserved in a social district.
'In most establishments, it is the waitstaff or barkeep who has a running tab and knows exactly how much alcohol has been purchased,' Bevill writes. 'But between zone businesses? If someone has too much to drink and kills a family, do we apportion the damages against all of the merchants in the social district? Or do we have to investigate which establishment served them last?'
Margaret Konze of Pembroke was short and to the point on the subject.
'We don't need more public drunkenness in New Hampshire.'
Drew Cline, president of the Josiah Bartlett Center for Public Policy, spoke before the Senate Commerce Committee in support of the bill. He said he often visits his hometown of Hickory, North Carolina, which has a downtown social district.
In the past, it was 'always the same thing, looking around at the vacant storefronts,' Cline said. 'Last year I went back, and I am not exaggerating, there is not a single vacant storefront in downtown Hickory, North Carolina. In the entire downtown.
'Hickory is a mill town, it was a textile and furniture manufacturing town — this might sound familiar to a lot of people in New Hampshire — and not a single vacant storefront.'
pfeely@unionleader.com
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