Las Vegas council to consider downtown ban on open liquor bottles

To limit access to inexpensive liquor, a proposal will go Wednesday to the Las Vegas City Council making it a misdemeanor punishable by a $1,000 fine and six months in jail to open a bottle of liquor in a 32-block area of downtown.

Councilman Ricki Barlow voted against the plan Monday during the council’s recommending committee meeting, but with the support of Councilmen Stavros Anthony and Bob Coffin, it will be heard by the full council.

The proposal as written affects the area bounded by Stewart Avenue, Eighth Street, Bridger Avenue and the Union Pacific Railroad west of Main Street, a 32-block area. It’s not just the Fremont Street Experience anymore.

It would create a paper- or plastic-only zone banning alcohol from being consumed in glass or metal containers.

Liquor purchased from packaged liquor stores would have to be placed in a bag with a receipt stapled to it.

If police saw the package opened, even if its carrier wasn’t drinking from the bottle, they could cite the person for a misdemeanor.

“I don’t believe the crime fits the penalty, $1,000 for opening a paper bag,” Barlow said.

The other council members were confident the police would use discretion and not cite casual visitors who wouldn’t know the law.

The council has been working on a series of ordinances to try to reduce excessive alcohol consumption on the Fremont Street experience.

This particular bill would do things like double a fine from $250 to $500 for a violation by a business, such as a failure to post signs about where packaged liquor can be opened.

Existing city law says you can buy liquor from a store, but it cannot be opened within 1,000 feet of the store.

Barlow said a sticking point for him is that the new ordinance would mean he couldn’t buy a fifth and transfer it to a plastic container in that area. “Once I open the bag, I’m in violation.”

Anthony took the opposite view, wanting a strict interpretation. “The whole reason we’re here today is that liquor in the mall (the Fremont Street Experience) is out of control.”

The city’s Public Works Department will be posting signs describing the zone that will ban alcohol in glass and aluminum containers.

The council wants people to be able to buy packaged liquor to take to their rooms, but not to drink on Fremont Street. Instead, the council wants people to buy their alcohol at casinos, bars and taverns, where the drinks tend to be more expensive than in packaged liquor stores.

Contact Jane Ann Morrison at jmorrison@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0275.