New sidewalk, alcohol rules go to council

Libby businesses could be charged as little as $1 for a permit that owners need to have before they place items on the sidewalk.

During a series of meetings in June, the Ordinance Committee of the Libby City Council considered several amendments to Libby Municipal Code Chapter 12.32 that would allow sidewalk encroachment and alcohol to be served outside drinking establishments. 

Right now, it is a violation of city code for businesses to place items on the sidewalk. The city, however, has not enforced that particular ordinance, and many businesses have made it a routine to place items or signs on the sidewalks.

City Attorney James Reintsma said permits will be needed for liability reasons. If someone were to injure themselves on the sidewalk outside a business, that person could sue the store owner and the city because the city was not  enforcing the ordinance.

City Council President Bill Bischoff said he would be in favor of charging as little as legally possible for businesses to be able to have items temporarily on the sidewalk – a marketing tool that has been used on Libby’s main business streets for years.

Bischoff suggested the fee could be as low as $1, but it would be up to the City Council. 

“I hope they would support something like that,” Bischoff said, adding that Libby businesses were already under pressure and didn’t need any more fees imposed on them.

Some of the points in the draft include “a temporary and revocable permit to allow encroachments upon any inside boulevard area or other public grounds within any area of the city may be granted to the owner or lessee of the adjoining property by application to the city council” with a list of conditions.

These conditions include a “payment to the city of a one-time application fee” - a fee that would be established by city council resolution.

The draft also includes an exclusive use permit for food and alcohol service, stating “all sidewalk cafes and taverns having an alcoholic beverage license, including breweries, shall be required to have the staff of the establishments serve all food, alcoholic beverages and non-alcoholic beverages in the permitted sidewalk cafe area only.”

The proposed amendment was sparked by a request made in April, from the soon-to-be-opened Cabinet Mountain Brewing Co. to have outdoor seating in a permanent enclosure outside the brewery.

As the city’s code stands now, there is no ability to allow the brewery to serve alcohol outside or to allow the brewery to have a permanent enclosure on the sidewalk.

Amending ordinances such as these is an issue that many cities are now encountering since the brewery boom took off in Montana. Smaller cities are looking to see how larger cities such as Great Falls and Billings have dealt with the necessary changes that would allow breweries to have beer gardens and outdoor seating, Reintsma has said in previous meetings.

However, the proposed amendments to the city’s code have angered some downtown business owners because the brewery’s request has highlighted that businesses need a permit to be able to have items on the sidewalk for liability issues.

The issue is particularly contentious because the ordinance points to the city’s ownership of the sidewalks, though businesses are still expected to maintain the sidewalks and are also liable if a person were to become injured outside their store.

The idea of paying a $50 permit fee – a fee that is the common payment for permits in most towns and cities in Montana – has caused some consternation among business owners during the committee meetings.

Bischoff had asked if it was possible for business owners to apply for a permit at no charge. But Reintsma said a fee must be attached to make the permit valid.

The City Council will meet at 7 p.m. on June 7 to hold a first reading of the amended ordinance. The ordinance will become effective 30 days after the second reading and final adoption.