Supporters say 'alcohol impact zones' needed to curb crime
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PORTLAND, Ore. – A bill that supporters say is designed to help cities cut down on crime associated with street drinking had its first hearing at the Capitol on Friday.
It was something Portland had tried to do once before.
In 2010, Portland city commissioners wanted to carve out an alcohol impact zone across downtown. The Oregon Liquor Control Commission initially gave the city the green light to begin work on the proposal. So employees put in two years of work and taxpayer money, but last year the OLCC told the city it did not have the power to enforce such a ban.
Critics of the bill counter it will hurt Oregon craft breweries and wineries and limit some of the products consumers might want to buy.
On Friday night in Portland’s Old Town-Chinatown neighborhood, it only took a few minutes to spot a police officer writing two men up for street drinking.
It's what supporters of House Bill 2702 have in mind.
"It's dangerous, and it happens a lot, especially in our entertainment district," said City Commissioner Amanda Fritz, who is leading the push for alcohol impact areas that let cities limit sales of low-cost, high-alcohol drinks in order to curb crime.
"It been shown to cut down on the problem behavior," she said.
But inside Peterson's in downtown Portland, owner Doug Peterson worries the bill will hit high-end wines with a high-alcohol content.
"I'm for reasonable restriction on those items that are truly problem alcohol that they find with the street drinkers," he said. "... (street drinkers) are drinking the Four Loko, the malt liquors like Olde English 800, the fortified wines."
Peterson doesn’t sell those products.
"It attracts the wrong crowd," he said. "My customers are the tourists and the business people in downtown Portland."
But he does sell plenty of microbrews, which could also be limited because of alcohol content and size.
"And so we would no longer be able to carry 16-ounce cans. We could only sell 12-ounce cans," he said.
Asked whether there needs to be some sort of clarification in the bill for microbrews and the high-end wines before it can move forward, Fritz said "It doesn't necessarily need to be clarified at this stage."
Fritz doesn't want to slow down the bill and the alcohol impact areas, but she hopes the Legislature eventually makes sure high-end wine and microbrews are not lumped in with street drinking.
"That's not our intention. And so we certainly are willing to work with the grocery association and the restaurants and others to make sure that's not what happens," she said.
Friday's House committee hearing in Salem is only the start of the process. Supporters will need to convince the House and Senate to approve the bill.
A variety of business interests are fighting the current version of the bill.
Why not control the criminals! Why is it that this liberal society refuses to hold people accountable for their actions? Let's face it! It is people that are causing the problems, not objects or substances! People are making the wrong decisions and want society to pay the consequences!
Hold the criminals responsible instead of making excuses for them!
give  it up. GIVE IT UP! No law will allow a law to become one. Like guns and stuff, if you have more guns then no one will be shot. Like in a war or something
On one hand, do we really need more laws? On the other hand, I have to ask Don Peterson about his comment.
"I'm for reasonable restriction on those items that are truly problem alcohol ...."
What alcohol does not cause a problem?Â
There are times that I think alcohol should be illegal and marijuana should be legal. From a legal standpoint, just switch the two.
Boy it looks like city hall wants to control everything. From what you drink to where you drink..Please join us in trying to keep fluoride out of our drinking water..http://www.cleanwaterportland.org/
Really??? I think someone has been hitting the bottle already or have they made a visit to Washington state first for the funny weed?
Nothing to see here, only the worlds most abused [and celebrated] drug, move along.
First 4loco, now this!
This is just as pathethic as trying to ban certain guns. Way to further hurt the Oregon economy!
How about controlling the criminals and trouble makers instead of objects?
Ah, yes. More Nanny Statists who want to regulate law-abiding citizens to flush out the class of people of which they disapprove, or because they have some dubious statistic to wave around as if they're somehow going to cure alcoholism and misbehavior by moving the alcohol over -there-. 'Cause an alcoholic won't just go over -there- to drink, will he?
One more step forward in the endless Baby Boomer march to tell everybody else how to live.
@Playanekes  Well, you had me right up until you placed the blame on the Baby Boomers. Not all Baby Boomers are left wing psycho Nanny Statists.
@wondering @Playanekes Yes, some baby boomers are conservative burn witches, ban sex, ban fun, nanny statistsÂ
As a millionaire who enjoys $500 bottles of high-potency wine, I think the only solution is to round up and euthanize the homeless people downtown. You wouldn't have to do it long either, once word got out they'd all head for the Lloyd district and Hawthorne and my problem would be solved.
Wouldn't an alcohol impact zone detract from Portland's being recommended as a top spring-break location?
"Critics of the bill counter it will hurt Oregon craft breweries and wineries and limit some of the products consumers might want to buy."
Yes, the history of booze, lobbying, and a lot of money to be made goes way, way, way back in the Northwest.And you know how lots of white collar folk like to stop at a downtown convenience store for some of that fine Old English 800 or the like.Â
It sounds to me like the problem is already half solved. Â If the problem is that bad downtown, why not make downtown the only place where street drinking is allowed. Â It couldn't be any worse than the panhandlers, druggers, deadbeats and occupiers who have taken over the place. Â They all come from the same mentality, so give them downtown and be done with it.
 If a drunk wants to drink, they will get their booze regardless of where they have to go.
Why is it drunks and drinking seem to be such a great thing in the state of Oregon. I have been anger sense June 2012. I passed out after careing for my husband who has sense passed away. I am not allowed to drive for a year. But Oregon does not seem to want to get drunks off the road only off of the street. This is a screwed up state.
@Cindy Chester Yes it is. Every now and then,  I google the story about disposing of a dead beached whale by blowing it up. It did not go as planned.
Finally something to protest about. You will have to pull my dead fingers off my OE8 40 ouncer. The Albertsons at se122nd and division stocked the Mad Dog behind the courtesy booth for awhile because of theft. It was embarrassing to have to ask the clerk for it.
Gosh, what an astute idea. I mean, look how well 'gun free zones' have worked in reducing gun offenses!
'On Friday night in Portlandâs Old Town-Chinatown neighborhood, it only took a few minutes to spot a police officer writing two men up for street drinking.'
Wait... So, you're saying that there are already laws on the books that address the problem?
...and that hasn't made an appreciable dent in the problem???
So... We'll pass another law to solve the problem?
I respect that Portland has a problem with 'street drinking', but laws like the proposed ones are simply NIMBY. They don't eliminate the problem altogether, they simply move it to another location. But, I suppose, if there's one thing that Portland seems good at its feel good, NIMBY laws and ordinances.Â
As long as WE don't see the problem, it's all good.Â
Can't we just bus them to Mexico? It would be like an international exchange program. Our bums for their illegals.Â
@hankhandsome I like that........We can call it the IEP.
Go after the trouble makers, not the law abiding citizens! If there is a problem deal with it, don't pass laws that take the rights and liberties away from the rest of us! This is a liberal approach to a perceived problem, not a reality!
wasted 2 years and tax payer's money to come up with an unenforceable proposal.  Typical.
Its a discussion in first year AJ courses all over the land that for certain kinds of crime (prostitution, drunk in public, etc) it is impossible to eradicate it, all that can be done is to move it from one area to another. Â New laws will only protect certain areas, will cost more money to enforce, and will push the problem into a new area. Â That's all.
@Umhal And take money away from the small business that can't sale the stuff
On Friday night in Portlandâs Old Town-Chinatown neighborhood, it only took a few minutes to spot a police officer writing two men up for street drinking.
See no additional laws are needed.
Give it up. No laws will ever stop transients drinking on the streets. It is a lesson in futility.
It's like trying to ban guns thinking that criminals will stop having access to them.
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@Welfair Chick Court overturned the soda ban in NYC, today.
How about getting the homeless into housing & jobs so they can drink their choice of alcoholic beverages in the privacy of their homes like 90 % of the rest of Portlanders do?
@August100 Why should we have to work to pay for our own housing and food and also pay for bums to get free housing and food? Better to make their lives more miseable so they finally decide they'd better do something about it.
@hankhandsome I'm not sure what anyone can do to make life on the street more miserable than it already is. Many of these people have mental problems and are using alcohol to self medicate. It seems to me that if you really want to do something about the homeless problem then these people need to be taken off the street and treated. That takes money which means taxes and/or fees. Of course if you don't want to raise taxes then you will pay the price of having homeless people on the street. the price of reduced business due to people avoiding the homeless and the extra police and the cost of band-aid laws that don't work. Just a thought.
@hokeywolf @hankhandsome Yes, fine, leave them on the streets. That's where they belong. They're street people.Â
@hankhandsome @August100 I don't think anyone should get FREE HOUSING; I believe EVERYONE CAN WORK & PAY FOR HOUSING.....but keeping people from working IS BIG BUSINESS in the USA.
The MULTI-BILLION DOLLAR A YEAR (taxpayer funded)Â Poverty Pimp Industry would disappear if all people were allowed to work & thrive!The Poverty Pimps labeling people "CRAZY, ADDICTED, and ALCOHOLIC" make them UNEMPLOYABLE FOR LIFE.
@August100Â @hankhandsome So hire some of them.
@August100 Because their drinking is what caused them to neglect their life and housing in the past. It is the reason they are Homeless.
@August100 The housing thing has been tried, all they do is completely destroy it.
@axpman @August100 NOT TRUE; the Poverty Pimp's PRISON-LIKE SHELTERS are not "HOUSING".
@August100 @axpman No, seriously. My dad rented his house out to a family who had no other housing options, and they destroyed it after he wouldn't keep giving them free rent. It took a court order to get them out, while the bank nearly foreclosed on him because they refused to pay rent for six months. He needed a better lawyer, but, that has nothing to do with the fact that they trashed the place just to be pigs.
Rent is high because the owner has to pay extra insurance, extra interest and has to hire professional renter services who know how to keep you from getting royally screwed by people you're trying to help.
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@Welfair Chick Do you mean "We should be able to buy booze with ebt"? Why didn't you write that? Too much boooze?
@Welfair Chick Beer is food. Nothing like a cold one now and then.
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@Welfair Chick @bOB Instead of that why don't you go to some nice park in the ort?
We just don't want the poor and homeless enjoying the brew because they have a tendency to speak their mind about what they are feeling ..
And we just as soon not hear about it...
I mean life sucks and we look at you like scum we get that OK.
It's not like we need you to tell us about it...
Oh and that will be $1.75 plus deposit and thanks for stopping by...Â
Why try to restrict alcohol sales in certain districts ? Why don't they make Multnomah County a dry county? That would prohibit any alcohol of any kind from being sold any where within the county. I used to live in a dry county, and quite frankly I plan to try to get something passed to make Washington County dry. If Multnomah , and Washington counties were both dry, people could still go to Clackamas county to buy alcohol. I know some are worried that it will hurt Oregon craft breweries and wineries, but they can still make their product, just can't sell it within the boundries of the county. I feel if both counties and possibly Clackams Co., all worked together and became dry counties, imagine the drop in drunk driving, and I'll bet the amount of hit and run accidents would decrease also.
@myopinion240Â
So you would shut down Windmir, and Bridgeport?
@myopinion240 That's funny because in 1992 I was hit by a drunk driver in Monmouth. Also, prohibition failed.
@myopinion240Â
Dry Counties? Good luck with that, remember what happened with Monmouth?
@myopinion240 So true and the amount of people who drink responsibly and are now pizzed off would go threw the roof..
but good thoughtÂ
Oh would that include the night clubs as well??Â
@uknow2 @myopinion240 In dry counties, it is exactly that, DRY. No alcohol sold ANYWHERE, by anyone. However, if people want to drink in their own homes, they can go to a county that sells, and bring any booze they want home.
@myopinion240 So, you're going to shut down all of the drinking establishments in Portland, somehow.
Cripes, we have another Ginny Burdick.