Commissioners approved the license unanimously over a chorus of objections from police and city officials who worried about setting a new precedent for alcohol sales at food carts, and about increased enforcement issues that arise when drinks are served.
?"Our concern is simply that it will open the floodgates and create a public safety problem that we're not equipped to address," said Eric Hendricks, assistant chief of the Portland Police Bureau. The department budget already is stretched thin and the ranks of officers may continue to decline, Hendricks said.
Granting liquor licenses to food carts will only make it tougher to enforce complaints of disorderly conduct and other behaviors that come along with serving alcohol.
Liquor officials dismissed those concerns, and said they were more interested in helping out small businesses that provide a service to the neighborhood.
"In my mind, I see this like I sometimes see in downtown Bend -- a roped-off beer garden," said commission member Ron Roome, who is from Central Oregon. Roome said he felt comfortable approving the license after the owners of the property, Roger Goldingay and his wife Carol Otis, agreed to close it after 10 p.m. on weekdays and 11 p.m. on weekends.
OLCC Chair Cassandra SkinnerLopata said the decision may set a new precedent for food carts, but she doesn't expect to see a flood of new approvals. Each applicant must get individual approval from the full commission, and most would not meet the requirements, which include fencing, monitoring and other restrictions.
Goldingay told the commission that, despite police concerns about increased crime, the Cartlandia food carts have been a positive influence on the surrounding area. "We've done a tremendous amount of work on the property," he said. "We have cleaned up the neighborhood."
? Harry Esteve
Source: http://www.oregonlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2012/03/olcc_grants_liquor_license_to.html
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