Georgetown BID Board Votes to End Liquor License Cap and Moratorium

Soon—early next year, in fact—it looks like the Georgetown liquor license moratorium, in effect since 1989, will cease to exist.

The Georgetown Business Improvement District took the first step in officially supporting the end of the moratorium that capped liquor licenses in Washington, D.C.’s oldest neighborhood. By the end of November, the Citizens Association of Georgetown and then the Georgetown-Burleith Advisory Neighborhood Commission will also take on the issue of the ban that many have said is stifling business growth in Georgetown.

The three main groups—about to reach a decision on liquor license protocol—will be talking with the Alcohol Beverage Control Board on how to implement their three-way agreement. To move the process forward, the BID has also produced a “Georgetown Settlement Agreement Template.”

The Georgetown BID CEO Joe Sternlieb issued the following statement Nov. 19:

“I just want to update you on the action taken this afternoon by the Georgetown BID Board to support ending the cap and moratorium on new restaurant liquor licenses in Georgetown when it expires on Feb. 3. The BID Board passed a resolution that supports a three-way agreement between itself, ANC 2E and the Citizens Association of Georgetown that was negotiated by representatives of each organization.

“For the last several months two representatives from each group have been meeting to seek a consensus position that would allow the moratorium to expire while addressing the community’s concerns about potential negative impacts on residents from some types of restaurants.

“Our mutual goal has been to encourage more, and more high-quality, restaurants to locate in Georgetown without creating new, undue negative impacts on residents. We believe ending Georgetown’s restaurant liquor license cap and moratorium, which is the only remaining such moratorium in the District, will send a positive message to restaurateurs that Georgetown wants them.

“The draft agreement, supported by the BID and to be voted on by CAG on Nov. 24 and the ANC on Nov. 30 has three parts. First, we ask the Alcohol Beverage Control Board to pre-screen CR and DR (restaurant) liquor license applicants for appropriateness under the law by holding a fact-finding hearing for questionable applications prior to placarding. This is the same protocol the ABC uses for Adams Morgan applications. Second, we ask the ABC to review a Georgetown Settlement Agreement Template for legal sufficiency. The group developed this template as a set of general terms that the Georgetown community would like new restaurants to adhere to with respect to noise, trash, and hours of operation (the new template would not apply to existing restaurants). It is very similar to templates used in other D.C. neighborhoods and would be negotiated, as needed, on a case by case basis. And third, the group agreed to meet at least every six months to review the restaurant situation in Georgetown to determine if any problems have been created by the community’s new approach to liquor licensing that the group can work to fix.

“The Georgetown BID sees the collaboration with CAG and the ANC representatives as a very positive development in creating a friendlier climate for new restaurants to open in Georgetown. We hope that the full CAG and ANC will follow the BID’s lead and adopt this resolution.”