The city of Benton Harbor will soon allow a new kind of liquor license for dining establishments and higher-end businesses downtown.
At their regular meeting Monday, city commissioners discussed the proposed Downtown Development District Liquor License Policy that would enable businesses investing in the downtown to apply for the special licenses that couldn’t be transferred out of the district.
City Manager Alex Little noted commissioners have complained many times about the proliferation of liquor licenses in the community, but those involved different kinds of businesses. He said these new licenses, allowed under state law, would go to places like restaurants and cigar bars.
“It’s about building development, bringing money and income into the community,” Little said.
Little said the first request for a redevelopment liquor license was from a luxury cigar bar, not from a neighborhood gas station or party store. Still, Commissioner Emma Kinnard was opposed to allowing any new kind of liquor license.
“You think about the dollars, money isn’t everything,” Kinnard said. “We have to have a safe community, and it seems like we’re endorsing more of the alcohol and liquor licenses and things of that sort.”
Commissioners Juanita Henry and Ethel Clark Griffin also opposed the plan. However, Mayor Pro Tem Duane Seats was on board, saying this is like giving a liquor license to an Olive Garden or an Applebee’s. He said these won’t be places where someone can slip in the side door and slip out with a bottle of cheap booze in a paper bag.
Little said if the city wants to redevelop, it’s got to cater to the businesses that attract visitors. Commissioners then approved the new policy on a five to three vote.
