Lower Downtown District, Inc.

A Look At Liquor Licenses in LoDo

Jul 18, 2000

Community Forum Planned for This August: Notices Coming Soon
Imagine that two bars open in LoDo. One throws out coasters and sells Kamikazes to college kids with fake ID's and throw up in the alley. The other makes martinis and stirs in live jazz. You and your 40-something friends stayed until midnight last Friday night.
Which one of these bars "deserve" to be in LoDo? And who "deserves" to make that decision? These questions are at t he heart of the controversy that surrounds neighborhood groups and local (and would-be local) businesses, primarily those with liquor licenses.
The Lower Downtown District, Inc. has always been a bridge, paring the sometimes muddied mixed-neighborhood waters between residents and businesses. Now, as local resident neighborhood groups become more involved in the acquisition of liquor licenses, where does (or should) LDDI stand?
According to Dan du Bois, Executive Director of LDDI, "LDDI needs to take a leadership role in evaluating how establishments with liquor licenses impavt the livability of Lower Downtown and the ability of present liquor license holders to make a living."
This evaluation will begin with a forum that Jim Roberts, LDDI President of the Board of Directors, says is a "good, joint action that addresses the co-existence issues that do come up in a mixed-use neighborhood."
The community forum which is tentatively scheduled for August (meeting notices will be sent to members or call 303-628-5428 for information) will jointly be sponsored by LDDI and St. Charles Neighborhood Group. The purpose is to provide a setting where all sides of the issue-residents, establishments and visitors-will be represented, inviting a "truly proactive discussion that actively ponders all the sides of this issue from the ethics of an establishment to a resident's rights,' says du Bois.
This month, LDDI Board Members Ellen Wilensky and Larry Gibson also take a look at the issue and offer their insight. If you'd like to do the same, write down your view and fax it too: LoDown Editorial, 303-254-6174 or email it to plhlru@aol.com.