BID Releases Whitepaper Calling for End of Moratorium

The Georgetown Business Improvement District (BID) released a whitepaper yesterday calling for the end of the Georgetown liquor license moratorium. This does not come as a huge surprise; the BID has been quietly raising the possibility for a while now. But this report puts some heft behind the proposal, and will hopefully lead to a productive discussion.

Frequent readers of the Georgetown Metropolitan will recognize some of the arguments made by the BID in the report: the original problems that led to the adoption of the moratorium have for the most part dramatically reduced. Georgetown is no longer the sole party destination for DC like it was in the 1980s.

GM likes this particular excerpt:

There is no longer a perception of Georgetown as a “party district.” Large scale, anomic gatherings related to sports teams, holidays, or alcohol-related promotions are nearly unheard of One contributing factor to this development is that the Redskins are no longer playing within the District.

That last sentence has a footnote that reads: “Nor do the Redskins win like they used to in the 80’s with a 97-61 record in 10 years before the moratorium and 68-96 over the last 10 years.”

The BID argues that the creation of the BID itself has helped reduce the problems of trash and rodents from bars and restaurants. And the report notes that the particular conditions that created Georgetown as a party spot have faded, most notably that the late date at which DC adopted a 21 year old drinking age created a whole generation of bars in Georgetown tailored to 18-21 year olds.

The report also notes a lot of the problems that come with the moratorium: quality restaurants don’t want to open here because they can’t be assured that they’ll acquire a license. And when licenses do come free, they go to speculators (or existing establishments) not to legitimate operations.

It’s an interesting read. And GM’s position on the matter is no secret (although he had nothing to do with the BID’s report). But the moratorium comes up for review next year, and it takes a phenomenal effort to counteract the momentum of the status quo. So let’s have an open and honest discussion about it.