Alcohol-Sales Limits Mulled in S.F. October 11, 2005
News Summary
Faced with soaring health costs related to chronic intoxication and related homelessness, city officials in San Francisco are considering ways to limit alcohol sales, the San Francisco Chronicle reported Oct. 5.Mayor Gavin Newsom and other city leaders are considering asking liquor stores in neighborhoods like the Tenderloin, South of Market, and on Third Street to sign "good neighbor agreements" to limit store hours, stop selling cheap, high-alcohol products like Royal Gate vodka, Taaka vodka, and Steel Reserve beer, and shut down on dates when welfare checks are distributed.
Legislation that would give the city more direct control of alcohol sales also is being drafted by Supervisor Sophie Maxwell. The measure would encourage good behavior and punish stores that do not conform.
In Seattle and Tacoma, Wash., good-neighbor agreements became city laws when too few stores complied voluntarily. Those agreements included bans on sales of single bottles and cans and bans on products like Steel Reserve. Researchers said the laws led to reductions in emergency calls, detox admissions, and police calls.
Newsom, a Join Together fellow who has roots in the wine and hospitality business, expressed concern about how the industry would react to the proposals. "There's a lot of money at stake for these guys, so there could be a huge hindrance," he said.
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