Salisbury removes single city centre social district restriction – Salisbury Post

SALISBURY — After receiving a request from businesses involved in the city’s downtown social district, the Salisbury City Council voted to eliminate a regulation that had made the city more restrictive than any other in the state.

The rule in question required vendors of alcoholic beverages in the social district to place the name of the purchaser and the date and time of purchase on the glass. The Downtown Salisbury Bar and Restaurant Guild, which represents the majority of downtown ABC permit holders, submitted a request to the city saying the regulation, which was unique in the state, placed an unnecessary burden on its ability to sell beverages.

“We ask the city to consider removing these additional requirements from the bylaws as they place an additional burden on our businesses. Based on reports from the Salisbury Police Department, we believe that removing this measure will improve our business, without causing any issues for the safety of our downtown,” the organization wrote in a letter to the city council.

Sada Stewart Troutman, executive director of Downtown Salisbury Inc., said she surveyed businesses that sell drinks within the district and 13 of 14 of them said posting the name, date and time discourages them from selling drinks. The same number said they have not had problems with crime or underage drinking attempts since the social district began and 10 said the social district has a positive impact on their districts. One respondent said they had not yet started selling drinks.

The city council added that part of the Salisbury Downtown Social District ordinance on top of what the state required. Troutman said no other city in the state that has allowed social districts has that rule in place, and those localities reported no increase in crime or underage drinking as a result of their districts.

“When this measure was adopted in 2022, there was a modification included to ensure that it was adopted safely and responsibly in Salisbury. That modification is only required by Salisbury and is not something that the state would mandate. Again, it was done to ensure that the social district was implemented safely and we looked at it as a test to show that it was something that was going to be helpful for Salisbury,” Troutman said.

Councilman Harry McLaughlin asked if the police department was comfortable with the change, to which Police Chief Patrick Smith responded that it did not raise any concerns.

After debate, the council voted unanimously to remove the portion of the ordinance that states the name of the purchaser and the date and time the drink was purchased must be written on the cup.