INDReporter

Zoning Commish steps back from bar ban

by Walter Pierce

The Zoning Commission on Monday passed the hot potato back to consolidated government on the issue of lifting the 13-year-old ban on new bars in Downtown Lafayette, indicating that it wants LCG to host a series of public forums before tackling the issue.

The Zoning Commission on Monday passed the hot potato back to consolidated government on the issue of lifting the 13-year-old ban on new bars in Downtown Lafayette, indicating, according to a report in The Advocate, that it wants Lafayette Consolidated Government to host a series of public forums before tackling the issue.

Commissioners, according to the daily’s report, spoke briefly about the topic during Monday’s meeting at the Clifton Chenier Center, but believe the issue is too “contentious” to tackle without public input.

The City-Parish Council in January passed a resolution asking Zoning to look into a possible conditional-use zoning classification that would allow new bars, subject to conditions like having live music a required numbers of nights per week, to open in the Downtown district. The CPC in 2003 passed a moratorium on new bar licenses in the district amid concern that Downtown’s nightlife was getting too boisterous and threatening public safety.

The resolution co-authored by Councilmen Pat Lewis, who represents Downtown, and Bruce Conque has its genesis in the regulatory troubles popular live music venue Artmosphere has had over the last 12+ months.

Read The Advocate's report here.