LITTLE ROCK — Little Rock wants to prevent private clubs holding 5 a.m. liquor licenses in other cities from moving their business into the capital city.
City directors are set to vote tonight on an ordinance that would prohibit the transfer of a 5 a.m. liquor license into the city. If a club holding such a permit chooses to move into Little Rock, it must close by 2 a.m.
An early draft sent to city directors Friday would have required a midnight closing - an arbitrary time - but it was changed Monday afternoon to 2 a.m., a closing time similar to that of many bars in the city.
Other changes could be made by the time city directors vote on it tonight, City Attorney Tom Carpenter said late Monday afternoon.
The proposed law says private clubs that want to transfer their permits to Little Rock could not relocate to locations within 750 feet of an existing private club, sexually-oriented business, church, school, residence, park, hospital or property listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Private clubs with 5 a.m.permits already within city limits would not be affected by the ordinance.
Little Rock drafted the legislation after Capitol View-Stifft Station residents protested a Jacksonville club’s request to transfer its 5 a.m. permit to a building within view of the state Capitol. Residents originally believed that a strip club wanted to open in the former Star Bar location at 1900 W. Third St.
According to the Arkansas Alcoholic Beverage Control Division, Ricky Edge wants to transfer Sensations’ permit from Jacksonville and change the business’ name to “The Cove Ultra Lounge.” Edge could not be reached for comment Monday.
Although residents have since been told that the permit request does not involve a strip club, the neighborhood association still opposes the permit transfer because of the late hours involved.
“It doesn’t really mesh very well in what we’re trying to do with public safety to bring in a business that runs those kinds of hours,” said Cara Chapman, president of the Capitol View-Stifft Station Neighborhood Association .
The neighborhood supported the previous tenant, Chapman said, because the owner met with residents before opening for business. The bar also closed earlier.
Many bars in the city close at 2 a.m., a time dictated by their Class A permit. A Class B permit allows private clubs to stay open until 5 a.m.
Class B permits fell into disfavor a decade ago with the Arkansas Alcoholic Beverage Control Board, which routinely rejects applications for new 5 a.m. permits. Transfers from one county to another are also prohibited.
But the Little Rock location is within the same county and the property is zoned for a club. City officials expressed concern that there was nothing they could do to prevent a new bar with later hours from moving in.
“There’s not a lot of positives that happen after 2 o’clock in the morning,” said City Director Bruce Moore about why the city opposed the permit transfer.
Michael Langley, director of the Alcoholic Beverage Control Administration Division, said the transfer request will be denied because of the opposition - he routinely rejects any permit request when there’s opposition. But Edge can appeal Langley’s decision to the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board.
If passed, Little Rock’s ordinance would be the first municipal legislation Langley knows of that restricts permit transfers within a county, a restriction he’s not certain the city has the authority to impose.
Cities can limit hours and many choose to pass laws requiring bars to close at midnight or 2 a.m., Langley said.
But Little Rock is home to 17 businesses that already possess 5 a.m. liquor licenses. Moore said the proposed law has been written in a way to avoid affecting those establishments, some of which opened decades ago.
Arkansas, Pages 7 on 09/21/2010