LAYTON -- Liquor laws in Layton need to flow easier if the city is to support its convention and tourist trade by making room for more hotels seeking to have their own clubs.
In a recent workshop, the city council was informed by staff that Layton's liquor laws, last revised in 1997, are limiting the number of existing hotels and future hotels from having a club in their lobby.
"We are trying to provide for the hotels to have clubs, in more of an orientation toward the tourism industry and the convention industry," Community and Economic Development Director Bill Wright said.
The liquor laws in Layton currently cap the number of club or tavern licenses the council can issue to two establishments per superblock, with the city being broken down into four superblocks.
One superblock in the city that has reached its cap is the area east of Interstate 15 between Gordon Avenue and Antelope Drive, or the central portion of the city that takes in the Davis Conference Center, Wright said. In the area there are standalone clubs now operating outside of hotels, leaving some hotels without the ability to obtain a liquor license and serve drinks to its guests.
Wright said the city needs to consider adding a provision to its liquor laws to specifically address that concern in that area of the city.
Of the four superblocks in the city, he said, three have reached the maximum number of alcohol permits allowed. The only superblock not having reached its is the area along Main Street between Hill Field Road and Church Street, Wright said.
Staff will be recommending council continue to have a two-cap maximum of alcohol permits per superblock regarding standalone clubs or taverns operating outside a hotel, Wright said. To address the hotels in the superblock where the conference center is located, Wright said, staff will recommend a provision be adopted that will allow hotels in the area to have a license to serve alcohol within their establishment.
The concern is how the city's current liquor laws affect the tourism dollars in that specific superblock where many hotels are located, Mayor Steve Curtis said.
"Layton can't shut the doors to its borders and lead a blissful life. It just can't happen," Curtis said of isolating the city from those who may want an alcoholic beverage.
"In that one superblock, with the hotels, that is where (the law) needs to be addressed," Curtis said.
There are about 960 hotel rooms in central Layton, Wright said. Limiting hotels in that area from being able to have a club could impact the area's overall tourist trade, he said.
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